use-icon

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

use-icon

THE USAGE PANEL

The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.

The Panelists

open-icon

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.

scroll-icon

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.

100-words-icon

See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series!

Find out more!

open-icon

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com

dis·po·si·tion (dĭspə-zĭshən)
Share:
n.
1. One's usual mood; temperament: a sweet disposition.
2.
a. A habitual inclination; a tendency: a disposition to disagree.
b. A physical property or tendency: a swelling with a disposition to rupture.
3. Arrangement, positioning, or distribution: a cheerful disposition of colors and textures; a convoy oriented into a north-south disposition.
4. An act of disposing; a bestowal or transfer to another.
5. The power or liberty to control, direct, or dispose: the funds that were put at her disposition.

[Middle English disposicioun, from Old French disposition, from Latin dispositiō, dispositiōn-, from dispositus, past participle of dispōnere, to dispose; see DISPOSE.]

Synonyms: disposition, temperament, character, personality, nature
These nouns refer to the combination of qualities that identify a person. Disposition is approximately equivalent to prevailing frame of mind or spirit: "A patronizing disposition always has its meaner side" (George Eliot).
Temperament applies broadly to the sum of emotions, habits, and beliefs that affect or determine a person's actions and reactions: "She is ... of a very serene and proud and dignified temperament" (H.G. Wells).
Character can refer to a defining or distinguishing set of personal traits: "Whatever his peculiarities of character and outlook, he was far and away the most conversable person in our circle" (Andrew Ryan).
More often, though, it emphasizes a person's positive moral and ethical qualities: "Education has for its object the formation of character" (Herbert Spencer).
Personality is the sum of distinctive traits that give a person individuality: an outgoing, friendly personality.
Nature denotes native or inherent qualities: "It is my habit,I hope I may say, my nature,to believe the best of people" (George W. Curtis).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.