Main Entry: ten·den·cy

Pronunciation: \ˈten-dən(t)-sē\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural ten·den·cies

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

Date: 1628

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

synonyms 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>.