tendency
noun
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Definition of tendency
1a : a proneness to a particular kind of thought or action
b : direction or approach toward a place, object, effect, or limit
2a : the purposeful trend of something written or said : aim
b : deliberate but indirect advocacy
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Synonyms for tendency
Synonyms
affection, affinity, aptitude, bent, bias, bone, devices, disposition, genius, habitude, impulse, inclination, leaning, partiality, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, turn
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Examples of tendency in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One Marvin Chester Stone, an owner of a paper cigarette-holder factory in Washington, D.C., at the end of the 19th century, did not approve of this tendency to disintegrate. — Emelyn Rude, Time, "The Backlash Against Plastic Straws Is Spreading. Here’s How They Got So Popular in the First Place," 12 July 2018 Virginia Republicans’ choice of Corey Stewart to oppose Sen. Tim Kaine, for example, is a straight forward example of this tendency. — Chris Stirewalt, Fox News, "Power Rankings: Not so peachy primaries," 9 July 2018 Muddy Waters balanced both tendencies of the electric blues, conjuring the raw force of Howlin’ Wolf and also possessing the polish and sheen of BB King. — John Adamian, courant.com, "Britney Spears, Tory Lanez, Kimya Dawson: Seven Concert Highlights," 7 July 2018 With that established, Atir and Ferguson turned to whether this tendency has consequences. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Why Curie’s no Einstein: A subtle gender bias in science," 29 June 2018 So, Trump has this tendency to want to personalize relationships between states. — NBC News, "Meet the Press - May 27, 2018," 27 May 2018 In Peterson, this tendency is manifest in his deeply polarized view of gender. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, "Jordan Peterson’s Tired Old Myths," 21 May 2018 In the latter years of his dominance, Woods often missed fairways by a wide margin, especially on the first hole of his round; this tendency informed the title of Haney's book about Woods, The Big Miss. — Michael Rosenberg, SI.com, "There Is Only One Tiger Woods," 3 Apr. 2018 In the industry, there's this codependent tendency to not take care of yourself, to take care of everybody else instead. — Sean Brock, Bon Appetit, "Sean Brock on How Sobriety Changed the Way He Cooks," 3 Apr. 2018These 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.
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More Definitions for tendency
tendency
noun
English Language Learners Definition of tendency
: 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
See the full definition for tendency in the English Language Learners Dictionary
tendency
noun
\
Kids Definition of tendency
1 : a leaning toward a particular kind of thought or action Elizabeth had a tendency to worry about things like not having permission. —Zilpha Keatley Snyder, The Egypt Game
2 : a way of doing something that is becoming more common : trend
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