penchant

noun

pen·​chant ˈpen-chənt 

especially British ˈpäⁿ-ˌshäⁿ

: a strong and continued inclination

broadly : liking

Did you know?

English has multiple p-words that imply a strong instinct or liking for something, including propensity and proclivity, but to keep things precise, penchant is the proper word for implying a pronounced, persistent taste in a person ("a penchant for pretty pendants") or a predominant predilection for performing particular actions ("a penchant for petting penguins"). Penchant traces back all the way to the Latin verb pendere, meaning "to weigh," but is more immediately preceded in English by the French word penchant, from the present participle of pencher, meaning "to incline."

Synonyms of penchant

• tendency
• aptitude
• inclination
• devices
• affinity
• knack

Choose the Right Synonym for penchant

leaning, propensity, proclivity, penchant mean a strong instinct or liking for something.

leaning suggests a liking or attraction not strong enough to be decisive or uncontrollable.

a student with artistic leanings

propensity implies a deeply ingrained and usually irresistible inclination.

a propensity to offer advice

proclivity suggests a strong natural proneness usually to something objectionable or evil.

a proclivity for violence

penchant implies a strongly marked taste in the person or an irresistible attraction in the object.

a penchant for taking risks

Examples of penchant in a Sentence

Aside from the Catholic penchant for fish on Fridays, there is also the tradition of eating red beans and rice on Monday … —Tom Piazza, Why New Orleans Matters, 2005

Whether manifested in feminine decor or in an approach to teaching that assumes a female penchant for cooperative, or "connected," learning, stereotypical notions of femininity often infect institutions for women and girls. —Wendy Kaminer, Atlantic, April 1998

From both her father and mother she had inherited a penchant for art, literature, philosophy, and music. Already at eighteen she was dreaming of painting, singing, writing poetry, writing books, acting—anything and everything. —Theodore Dreiser, The Titan, 1914

a penchant for sitting by the window and staring moodily off into space

Recent Examples on the Web

Brin and a cohort of the ultrawealthy including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and venture capitalists Vinod Khosla and John Doerr have plowed millions into supporting Matt Mahan, a Silicon Valley mayor, with a back-to-basics agenda and a penchant for taking on the state’s Democratic establishment. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 27 Apr. 2026

Valerie Darden, designer and owner of Brexton Cole Interiors, has a penchant for French interiors. —Tessa Cooper, The Spruce, 27 Apr. 2026

Grab lunch or dinner at Twysted Vyne, a restaurant and wine bar with a penchant for supporting local musicians. —India Amos, Travel + Leisure, 26 Apr. 2026

The $10 billion that Cursor keeps even if the deal doesn’t happen looks, to my traditional M&A reporter brain, like the largest breakup fee on record (a smart move, given Musk’s penchant for getting cold feet). —Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 23 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, noun derivative from present participle of pencher "to lean, slope, be inclined, tend," going back to Old French pengier, going back to Vulgar Latin *pendicāre, from *pendere "to hang" + *-icāre, verb formative — more at pendent

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for penchant

• trenchant

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Kids Definition

penchant

noun

pen·​chant ˈpen-chənt 

: a strong liking