penchant
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of penchant
1665–75; < French, noun use of present participle of pencher to incline, lean < Vulgar Latin *pendicāre, derivative of Latin pendēre to hang
Explanation
A penchant is a strong preference or tendency. If you have a penchant for pizza, you either eat it daily or wish you did. Penchant borrows from French, in which penchant literally means inclined. It goes back to the Latin pendere, for hanging, which is also the source of pendant. In both French and English, speakers have long used the idea of inclination metaphorically: a hillside can be inclined in one direction or another, and so can a person's thoughts. But in English, penchant is only for desires.
Vocabulary lists containing penchant
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Neill’s penchant for the weird and abstract allowed him to use his unique features and distinct, gravelly voice to create characters who were as devilishly memorable as the beasts they went up against.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
There at the checkpoint I met Carl Revis, a TSA supervisory officer with a penchant for comedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
“We said, ‘Wait, what?’ ” says Brannin McBee, a CoreWeave co-founder who was familiar with Jane Street’s penchant for secrecy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
Throughout his career Burrows had a penchant for directing pilots because it meant “you’re better than an episodic director” and could create something new in the writer-driven medium of television.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
After all, wasn’t it about time somebody aroused this apathetic community’s penchant for fire and brimstone?
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
