What does prepossessing mean?
Word: Prepossessing
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Prepossessing means pleasant and attractive to look at. It is mostly used after not, as in not very prepossessing.
How do you spell prepossessing?
Syllables: pre - pos - sess - ing
Tricky part: Possess is greedy with its s's, and all of them stay when the word grows longer. Pupils often lose one pair or the other.
Watch out for: prepossesing, preposessing
Memory tip: Possess grabs two s's and then grabs two more. This longer word keeps every one of them.
Prepossessing in a sentence
Example 1: The old bookshop was far from prepossessing, but its shelves were full of treasures.
Example 2: With his muddy boots and torn jacket, the new coach did not look very prepossessing.
Example 3: The hotel's prepossessing garden made up for its tiny rooms.
Fun Fact
To prepossess once meant to take hold of something before anyone else could. Later it came to mean filling someone's mind beforehand, so a prepossessing person wins you over before saying a word.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
pr_possess_ng
a) e, i
b) e, e
c) a, i
d) i, i
Show answer
a) e, i. Pre is the usual prefix for before, and the ending is the common verb one.
Mingle-Mangle
Unscramble the jumbled word in the sentence and choose the correct word:
The corner bungalow was not very eiepsnssgrpso from the street, but its courtyard was lovely.
a) processing
b) progressing
c) professing
d) prepossessing
Show answer
d) prepossessing. Count the s's in the jumble: there are four, far more than any other option has.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word prepossessing as used in the sentence:
The new cafe had a prepossessing entrance with flower boxes and painted tiles.
a) crumbling
b) narrow
c) appealing
d) unusual
Show answer
c) appealing. Flower boxes and painted tiles are there to draw you in.
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the prefix un- to make a real word. Choose it:
un-
a) magnificent
b) breathtaking
c) charming
d) prepossessing
Show answer
d) prepossessing. With un- in front, the word describes something that does not look attractive; the other three have no such form.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A traveller writes that the inn was not prepossessing. What was the inn like?
a) it had too few rooms
b) it cost too much money
c) it did not look inviting
d) it stood very far away
Show answer
c) it did not look inviting
2. Which description suits a prepossessing young speaker?
a) late, noisy and hard to hear
b) tall, thin and always hungry
c) tired, bored and rather cross
d) neat, warm and pleasant to meet
Show answer
d) neat, warm and pleasant to meet
