tendency

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noun ten·den·cy \ˈten-dən(t)-sē\

: a quality that makes something likely to happen or that makes someone likely to think or behave in a particular way

: a way of behaving, proceeding, etc., that is developing and becoming more common

plural ten·den·cies

Full Definition of TENDENCY

1

a :  direction or approach toward a place, object, effect, or limit

b :  a proneness to a particular kind of thought or action

2

a :  the purposeful trend of something written or said :  aim

b :  deliberate but indirect advocacy

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Examples of TENDENCY

1. The economy has shown a general tendency toward inflation.
2. <a tendency to drop things>

Origin of TENDENCY

Medieval Latin tendentia, from Latin tendent-, tendens, present participle of tendere

First Known Use: 1628

Related to TENDENCY

Synonyms

aptness, proneness, propensity, way

Related Words

affinity, aptitude, bent, disposition, inclination, leaning, mind-set, partiality, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, turn; custom, habit, pattern, practice (also practise), routine, wont; eccentricity, idiosyncrasy, oddity, peculiarity, quirk, singularity, trick

Near Antonyms

averseness, disinclination, dislike, indisposition

Synonym Discussion of TENDENCY

tendency, trend, drift, tenor, current mean movement in a particular direction. tendency implies an inclination sometimes amounting to an impelling force <a general tendency toward inflation>. trend applies to the general direction maintained by a winding or irregular course <the long-term trend of the stock market is upward>. drift may apply to a tendency determined by external forces <the drift of the population away from large cities> or it may apply to an underlying or obscure trend of meaning or discourse <got the drift of her argument>. tenor stresses a clearly perceptible direction and a continuous, undeviating course <the tenor of the times>. current implies a clearly defined but not necessarily unalterable course <an encounter that changed the current of my life>.