Word of the Day

: October 13, 2015

proclivity

noun proh-KLIV-uh-tee

What It Means

: an inclination or predisposition toward something; especially : a strong inherent inclination toward something objectionable

proclivity in Context

Martin's proclivity to lose his temper made him difficult to work with.

"Neither graduated from high school nor had any engineering background. But [Wilbur and Orville Wright] had a crucial trait: a proclivity for tinkering." — Curt Schleier, The Investor's Business Daily, 4 Sept. 2015

Did You Know?

Have you always had this leaning toward wanting to know about words and their etymologies? Maybe you even have a propensity to use the featured word several times in the course of the day—due, of course, not to a proclivity for pretentiousness, but because you simply have a penchant for using a rich vocabulary. And perhaps you have a predilection for using lots of synonyms, such as proclivity (from clivus, the Latin word for "slope"), referring to a tendency usually toward something bad; propensity, suggesting an often uncontrollable inclination; penchant, meaning an irresistible attraction; and predilection, which describes a strong liking derived from one's temperament.