Definition of "prepossession" [pre•pos•ses•sion]

• A preconception or prejudice. (noun)
• The state of being preoccupied with thoughts, opinions, or feelings. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I AM fully sensible of the greatness of that freedom, which I take with you on the present occasion; a liberty which seemed to me scarcely allowable, when I reflected on that distinguished and dignified station in which you stand, and the almost general prejudice and prepossession, which is so prevalent in the world against those of my complexion."
• "Mr. Solmes (that the prepossession which is charged upon me may not be supposed to influence me against him) I do absolutely declare,"
• "Though she did not encourage, she would not reject the attentions of the polite and elegant stranger, who had so much that was agreeable to say that she insensibly acquired a kind of prepossession in his favor."