as in preferring
to show partiality toward
I'm leaning toward sausage on our pizza tonight—we got pepperoni the last three times
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leaning (toward or towards)
Verb
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Banksy is not alone in preferring to remain anonymous.—
Lianne Kolirin,
CNN Money,
22 Mar. 2026 -
The vote supporting the pay raise was not unanimous as trustees Michael Allman and Phan Anderson voted against it, preferring instead that board members get the maximum allowed by the state of $2,000 per month.—
Karen Billing,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But before Scott Sandelin hired Larson as assistant coach at University of Minnesota-Duluth and abruptly ended his budding medical sales career, the quickest thing Larson learned was that sales is mostly about people liking you and relationships.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
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First, scammers promise easy money for simple tasks lsuch as liking videos or boosting views.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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From the outset, there was internal debate over whether OpenAI was the right partner, with former Apple AI chief John Giannandrea questioning the startup’s staying power and favoring a Google deal.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Following the four competitions, some participants criticized the process for such things as unclear requests for proposals, poor management and bias favoring city employee teams.—
Jan Goldsmith,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Williams recently celebrated his 55th wedding anniversary and was enjoying his retirement after a career making bulletproof equipment, family members said.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
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As for Palm Beach Pete, the doppelgänger is very much alive and seems to be enjoying the attention.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
25 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Leaning (toward or towards).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leaning%20%28toward%20or%20towards%29. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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