tendency
[ten-duh n-see]
- a natural or prevailing disposition to move, proceed, or act in some direction or toward some point, end, or result: the tendency of falling bodies toward the earth.
- an inclination, bent, or predisposition to something: a tendency to talk too much.
- a special and definite purpose in a novel or other literary work.
Origin of tendency
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com2. proclivity, leaning.
Synonym study
1. Tendency, direction, trend, drift refer to inclination or line of action or movement. A tendency is an inclination toward a certain line of action (whether or not the action follows), and is often the result of inherent qualities, nature, or habit: a tendency to procrastinate. Direction is the line along which an object or course of action moves, often toward some set point or intended goal: The change is in the direction of improvement. Trend emphasizes simultaneous movement in a certain direction of a number of factors, although the course or goal may not be clear for any single feature: Business indicators showed a downward trend. Drift emphasizes gradual development as well as direction: the drift of his argument.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for tendency
Contemporary Examples
They either have a tendency to hyperbolize and make life much more glamorous and titillating than it is, or the other way.
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal ExchangeMarlow Stern
December 27, 2014
But I do think if you look at history and you do believe that history has a tendency to do what?
In New York, district attorneys have a tendency to grow moss-bound in their roles.
Despite his tendency to speak frankly on political issues, he insists that neither he nor his group are politically active.
The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast has a tendency to lose its guests in the middle of the night.
Historical Examples
I freely say that the tendency of my thought, based on observation, is to conservatism.
'Tis Sixty Years SinceCharles Francis Adams
This tendency is in every one of us; but in some of us more than in others.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
That Hester had a tendency to high church had little or nothing to do with the matter.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
He was sorry to see this tendency to aristocracy on the part of members.
Now the tendency in France seems to be to go back to the monoplane.
Flying MachinesW.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell
tendency
- (often foll by to) an inclination, predisposition, propensity, or leaningshe has a tendency to be frivolous; a tendency to frivolity
- the general course, purport, or drift of something, esp a written work
- a faction, esp one within a political partythe militant tendency
Word Origin
C17: from Medieval Latin tendentia, from Latin tendere to tend 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for tendency
n.
1620s, from Medieval Latin tendentia "inclination, leaning," from Latin tendens, present participle of tendere "to stretch, aim" (see tenet). Earlier in same sense was tendaunce (mid-15c.), from Old French tendance.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper