prepossessing
adjective
Also a form of prepossess
- adjective Tending to invite favor; attracting confidence, favor, esteem, or love; attractive
- adjective (archaic) Causing prejudice.
Synonyms
Etymology
From prepossess + -ing. Attested in 1610s with the meaning of "getting possession of (ground or land) beforehand". The meaning "to possess (a person) beforehand with a feeling, notion, etc." developed in 1630s, acquiring by the 40s of the same century the meaning of "to cause (someone) to have a favorable opinion of something, preoccupy the mind or heart of".
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Tending to invite favor; attracting confidence, favor, esteem, or love; attractive; as, a prepossessing manner.
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “prepossessing”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details