tendency

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noun ten·den·cy \ ˈten-dən(t)-sē \

Definition of tendency

plural tendencies

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

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

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

b :deliberate but indirect advocacy

See tendency defined for English-language learners

See tendency defined for kids

Examples of tendency in a Sentence

The economy has shown a general tendency toward inflation.
a tendency to drop things

Recent Examples of tendency from the Web

If those instruments are there, that human tendency of wanting to be in control will remain.

— pete bigelow, Car and Driver, "Consumers on Self-Driving Cars: They’re Freaked Out, but They Can Be Persuaded," 25 Aug. 2017
There is one more imponderable to throw into the mix: Will the tendency of demographic groups that have recently become central to the Democratic coalition to significantly underperform in midterms change?

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Note to GOP: Senators From the Party That Doesn’t Control the White House Usually Do Very Well in Midterms," 24 Aug. 2017
But figuring out how LFS helps produce LF proved even more challenging due to LF's instability and tendency to vaporize.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "This Enzyme Is Why Onions Make You Cry," 23 Aug. 2017
This tracks with the bread's tendency to over-compensate.

— maggie lange, Bon Appetit, "Why Are People So Obsessed With Fitness Bread?," 4 Aug. 2017
Perhaps Trump was stripped of his physic tendencies.

— isobel thompson, The Hive, "Did Trump’s Lawyer Just Implicate Him in Donnygate?," 17 July 2017
Challenged by growing nationalist tendencies from Arab, Armenian, Greek and Kurdish subjects, Sultan Mehmed V issued a historic firman or proclamation that recognised these as individual nations united under the Ottoman sovereign.

— The Economist, "If the Ottoman Empire had not collapsedHad the Ottoman Empire been saved rather than sunk," 13 July 2017
That’s largely because his rehabilitation has been a pet project of Putin, who critics say has disturbingly Stalinist tendencies.

— alexander nazaryan, MSNBC Newsweek, "Why Russia Still Loves Josef Stalin, One of the 20th Century's Most Brutal Despots," 7 July 2017
The Portland, Oregon band was more enthusiastic than accomplished and had a regrettable tendency toward hand claps.

— jeffrey lee puckett, The Courier-Journal, "Rising stars: These Forecastle Festival bands could come back as headliners," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tendency.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of tendency

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

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First Known Use: 1628

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tendency Synonyms

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

TENDENCY Defined for English Language Learners

tendency

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noun

Definition of tendency for English Language Learners

: 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