PREPOSSESS

v.

2 definitions — Webster’s Dictionary (1828)


1.
v.

To preoccupy, as ground or land; to take previous possession of. Dryden.

2.
v.

To preoccupy, as the mind or heart, so as to preclude other things; hence, to bias or prejudice; to give a previous inclination to, for or against anything; esp., to induce a favorable opinion beforehand, or at the outset. It created him enemies, and prepossessed the lord general. Evelyn.