propensity

American  

[pruh-pen-si-tee] / prəˈpɛn sɪ ti /

noun

• propensities
  plural

1. a natural inclination or tendency.

   a propensity to drink too much.

   Synonyms:

   proclivity, penchant, disposition, leaning, bent

2. Obsolete. favorable disposition or partiality.

---

propensity British  

/ prəˈpɛnsɪtɪ /

noun

1. a natural tendency or disposition

2. obsolete partiality

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• propensities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of propensity

First recorded in 1560–70; propense + -ity

Compare meaning

How does propensity compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• proclivity vs. propensity

Explanation

A propensity is a natural tendency to behave in a certain way. We all have propensities — things we tend to do. Dogs have a propensity to bark, and many people have a propensity for getting annoyed by it. If you have a propensity for something, then it's something that comes naturally to you or something you just do a lot. Some people have a propensity to laugh. Other people have a propensity for making others laugh, or for being generous, or for getting angry. It's hard to change your propensities. Sometimes a propensity is a bad thing, as in a criminal with a propensity for theft or murder.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

propensity propensities

Galperin is similarly skeptical of any potential features that could meaningfully curb stalking: “It is not salvageable technology because of just the sheer scale of propensity to abuse.”

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

The part of New Jersey that Kean represents is considered a swing district, meaning it has a high propensity to flip between Republicans and Democrats each election cycle.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

“Carroll’s trial rested fundamentally on improper propensity evidence that courts ordinarily disavow,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a legal brief.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

They devoted most of their appeal to arguing that the court should take up the case because judges are divided on when propensity evidence should be excluded.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

During most of its life, a star is in an uneasy equilibrium: the propensity to collapse under its own gravity is balanced by the energy that comes from the fusing hydrogen in its center.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

The upshot is that equity wealth is increasingly available to fund spending among households with higher marginal propensities to consume.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

I’m still the same person with the same propensities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

The authors say that the study cannot disentangle the mechanisms driving the difference in the propensities to attend to social information.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 5, 2024

“Both the department and Police Protective League, after a period of time, get to know the hearing examiners, get to know their propensities, get to know the areas that they may be more sensitive to.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2023

In our tenure on this planet we have accumulated dangerous evolutionary baggage, hereditary propensities for aggression and ritual, submission to leaders and hostility to outsiders, which place our survival in some question.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• bias
• disposition
• leaning
• penchant
• predilection
• predisposition
• proclivity
• susceptibility
• tendency