preconception
Americannoun
-
an idea or opinion formed beforehand
-
a bias; prejudice
Other Word Forms
- preconceptional adjective
Etymology
Origin of preconception
First recorded in 1615–25; pre- + conception
Explanation
A preconception is an idea or opinion you have about something before you really know much about it. You might have the preconception that all New Yorkers are rude until you visit the city and start meeting friendly people. Imagine you give your friend an assessment of a popular TV show, saying, "Oh, it's so boring!" despite the fact that you've never seen it. Your negative opinion of the show is a preconception — you may be correct about the show, but you won't know until you actually sit down a watch a few episodes. Preconception comes from pre, "before," and the Latin concipere, "to take in and hold."
Vocabulary lists containing preconception
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: pre-
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Primates
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Part 2 Vocabulary (Unit 5)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With a subject that can be as dark as this, I know some people aren’t ready to hear it or have a preconception of what the show will be.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
The team found that women who experienced higher preconception stress had higher mean glucose levels.
From Science Daily • Jan. 4, 2024
“I do know there’s this preconception that the festival is a little more of a film nerd thing,” Huntsinger says.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 30, 2023
"There's a preconception that it's older people who use Park," says the firm's director of marketing, Katherine Scott.
From BBC • Nov. 28, 2022
Then there are others where fable, myth, preconception, love, longing, or prejudice step in and so distort a cool, clear appraisal that a kind of high-colored magical confusion takes permanent hold.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
