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Definition of inclination
1a obsolete : natural disposition : characterb : a particular disposition of mind or character : propensity; especially : liking had little inclination for housekeeping
2 : an act or the action of bending or inclining: such asa : bow, nodb : a tilting of something
3a : a deviation from the true vertical or horizontal : slant; also : the degree of such deviationb : an inclined surface : slopec (1) : the angle determined by two lines or planes (2) : the angle made by a line with the x-axis measured counterclockwise from the positive direction of that axis
4 : a tendency to a particular aspect, state, character, or action the clutch has an inclination to slip
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Examples of inclination in a Sentence
She shows no inclination to give in to their demands.
He's a loner by inclination.
My first inclination was to say no, but I finally decided to do what she asked.
I have neither the time nor the inclination to learn about such matters.
Recent Examples of inclination from the Web
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Rubin stuck to her indie inclination—and ironically, after selling a 10-episode psychosexual drama called Gypsy to Netflix, Sam Taylor-Johnson came onboard to direct and executive produce the first two episodes.
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L.A. ranked in the top 10 in pace multiple times during his tenure—but his natural inclination in recent years has been to control the game by valuing every possession, working like a surgeon rather than a sprinter.
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But there’s a lot more that’s subjective, and subject to the culture, philosophy, and inclinations of each parent.
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When coaches tell hitters to hit line drives, Mackanin said, the player's inclination is to swing harder.
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But with many more women working outside the home than when the Covenant Guild was founded, fewer have the time or inclination to join.
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The President's inclination was always to pull out of the Agreement, according to sources inside the White House.
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This breakthrough came at an ironic cost as gay-friendly analysts in the 1990s and 2000s often repeated their predecessors’ inclination to emphasize attachment motivations at the expense of phallic drives.
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That group of proposals didn't include Rauner's property tax demand, and majority Democrats in the House also haven't shown much inclination to go along with the state's Republican leader.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'inclination'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of inclination
14th century
INCLINATION Defined for English Language Learners
inclination
playDefinition of inclination for English Language Learners
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: a feeling of wanting to do something : a tendency to do something
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: a slanting surface
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: the act of bending your head or body forward : the act of inclining your head or body
INCLINATION Defined for Kids
Medical Dictionary
inclination
playMedical Definition of inclination
: a deviation from the true vertical or horizontal; especially : the deviation of the long axis of a tooth or of the slope of a cusp from the vertical
Learn More about inclination
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See words that rhyme with inclination Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for inclination Spanish Central: Translation of inclination Nglish: Translation of inclination for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of inclination for Arabic speakers
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