penchant

[ pen-chuhnt; French pahn-shahn ]

noun

1. a strong inclination, taste, or liking for something:

   a penchant for outdoor sports.

penchant

/ ˈpɒŋʃɒŋ /

noun

1. a strong inclination or liking; bent or taste

Word History and Origins

Origin of penchant¹

1665–75; < French, noun use of present participle of pencher to incline, lean < Vulgar Latin *pendicāre, derivative of Latin pendēre to hang

Word History and Origins

Origin of penchant¹

C17: from French, from pencher to incline, from Latin pendēre to be suspended

Idioms and Phrases

see have a penchant for .

Example Sentences

This penchant for medical internationalism goes back to the greatest icon of the revolution, Ernesto “Che” Guevara.

From The Daily Beast

The CIA has a penchant for such hilarious and sometimes depraved schemes.

From The Daily Beast

Reality-show deal aside, Weeks has a penchant for talking about her poverty.

From The Daily Beast

Let this be a warning for rich men who have a penchant for younger women—they can be quite jealous.

From The Daily Beast

Unlike his falsetto and his "cool dad" penchant for fedoras, this rumored affair is just so not cute.

From The Daily Beast

Of refined tastes, including a penchant for blue china, being a thriving bachelor, he was able to gratify them.

From Project Gutenberg

Excellent company; a frequenter of the home of Mme. de la Baudraye, where he satisfied his penchant for gaming.

From Project Gutenberg

These higher flights from Tootles always moved Pansy, who had a penchant for refined romance.

From Project Gutenberg

My landlord had a great penchant, like other Frenchmen of that day, for conversing on the subject of duelling.

From Project Gutenberg

Ling Chu on the contrary had a penchant for buses and seemed to enjoy them.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• affection
• affinity
• predilection
• proclivity
• propensity
• taste
• tendency
• weakness