tendency

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

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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

Stingers do have a tendency to heal on their own over a few days, depending on how irritated the nerves are after the initial injury.

— russell manalastas, SI.com, "Week 9 Fantasy Football Injury Report," 31 Oct. 2017
The tendency to grow thicker coats in the winter—and shed them in the summer—has also been documented in a variety of animals, including monkeys, cats, dogs, and camels.

— Health.com, "If You Think You've Been Losing More Hair Lately, This Is Probably Why," 27 Oct. 2017
Like their human counterparts, robos may have a tendency to oversell their investing prowess.

— The Economist, "Silicon speculators," 26 Oct. 2017
Slowing down South Charlotte Presbyterian Church will address what Faulkner sees as a pressing issue among South Charlotte residents: the tendency toward overscheduling and busyness.

— marty minchin, charlotteobserver, "South Charlotte Presbyterian Church will launch this weekend | Charlotte Observer," 11 Oct. 2017
Like Luck, Brissett has a tendency to hold on to the football too long in the pocket.

— stephen holder, Indianapolis Star, "Insider: Why the Colts sitting Andrew Luck is a terrible idea," 5 Oct. 2017
But worthwhile as all these assessments are, at some point Democrats will need to close the book on 2016 and fight the tendency to assume that the next presidential election will be a do-over.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Democrats Should Stop Fighting the Last War," 15 Sep. 2017
The tendency to procrastinate seems to be missing this time around.

— jerry fallstrom, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Hurricane Irma threat sends Lake residents scurrying for supplies," 6 Sep. 2017
Tribes have a tendency to value and pay attention to things relevant to the tribe to the exclusion of the big picture outside their purview….

— james fallows, The Atlantic, "‘Scorn for Tribalism Is an American Tradition’," 1 Nov. 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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1628

in the meaning defined at sense 1b

See Words from the same year

tendency Synonyms

Synonyms

affection, affinity, aptitude, bent, bias, bone, devices, disposition, genius, habitude, impulse, inclination, leaning, partiality, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, turn;

Near Antonyms

allergy, averseness, aversion, disfavor, disinclination, dislike, disliking, disrelish, distaste;

detachment, impartiality, neutrality, objectivity;

apathy, disinterestedness, indifference, insouciance, nonchalance, unconcern;

endowment, faculty, flair, genius, gift, knack, talent;

addiction, appetite, fancy, fondness, like, liking, preference, taste;

forte, speciality, specialty;

convention, custom, habit, pattern, practice (also practise), routine, trick, way, wont;

eccentricity, idiosyncrasy, kink, oddity, peculiarity, quirk, singularity;

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

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