Extract:
Select the meaning of the underlined word in the following sentence.
Being overweight may predispose a person to diabetes.
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A
Make susceptible
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B
Bring to light
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C
Save from harm
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D
Pass over
To predispose is to simply makes someone or something susceptible to other occurrences/ risks.
To predispose means to establish biological or environmental conditions that increase susceptibility to a particular outcome, in this case, creating metabolic vulnerabilities that heighten diabetes risk among overweight individuals.
A) Make susceptible
Predisposition explicitly creates vulnerability by establishing antecedent conditions that lower resistance thresholds. The prefix "pre-" indicates temporal precedence (before disease onset), while "dispose" derives from Latin disponere ("to arrange"), together meaning "to arrange beforehand" toward a specific outcome. This arrangement manifests as increased susceptibility, exactly matching the option's phrasing.
B) Bring to light
Illumination or revelation ("bringing to light") involves disclosure of existing but hidden information, whereas predisposition creates future vulnerability rather than exposing present reality. One might bring predisposition itself to light through genetic testing, but predisposition as a process operates causally rather than revelatory, making this option conceptually inverted.
C) Save from harm
Protection or salvation represents the functional opposite of predisposition, which increases rather than decreases risk. Immunization saves from harm by building resistance; predisposition undermines resistance by establishing vulnerability. These mechanisms operate in diametrically opposed directions along the risk continuum.
D) Pass over
Passing over implies omission or skipping without engagement, neutral neglect rather than active vulnerability creation. Predisposition requires causal engagement: specific physiological mechanisms (insulin resistance in obesity) actively shape future outcomes. Passive omission cannot generate the heightened probability that defines predisposition.
Conclusion
Predisposition functions as a causal antecedent that arranges biological systems toward heightened vulnerability for specific outcomes. Unlike revelation (exposing hidden states), protection (blocking harm), or omission (ignoring), predisposition actively configures risk architecture, making susceptibility not accidental but systematically increased through prior conditions that lower resistance thresholds.
Topic Flashcards
Click to FlipHis family history makes him prone to heart conditions. What does "prone to" mean in this context?
Having a tendency or susceptibility to; likely to experience
A weakened immune system can render a patient vulnerable to infections. What is the best meaning of "render...vulnerable" here?
To cause to become susceptible or at risk.
Certain genetic markers indicate a liability to develop the disease later in life.
A state of being at risk or susceptible; a disadvantage that increases chance of harm.
Which sentence uses "conducive to" in a way that matches the meaning of "predispose"? A) A quiet room is conducive to studying. B) A diet lacking calcium is conducive to bone weakness.
B) (It correctly uses "conducive to" to mean "creates conditions that make something [harmful] more likely").
In medical terms, what is a risk factor?
A condition, behavior, or characteristic that increases the likelihood of developing a disease.