Full Idea
To possess a dispositional property is not to be in a particular state;..it is to be bound or liable to be in a particular state, or undergo a particular change, when a particular condition is realized.
Gist of Idea
A dispositional property is not a state, but a liability to be in some state, given a condition
Source
Gilbert Ryle (The Concept of Mind [1949], II (7))
Book Reference
Ryle,Gilbert: 'The Concept of Mind' [Penguin 1949], p.43
A Reaction
Whether this view is correct is the central question about dispositions. Ryle's view is tied in with Humean regularities and behaviourism about mind. The powers view, which I favour, says a disposition is a drawn bow, an actual state of power.