Synonyms of predilection

predilection

noun

ˌpre-də-ˈlek-shən 

as in tendency

a habitual attraction to some activity or thing

a young lad with a predilection for telling tall tales

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tendency
• inclination
• aptitude
• devices
• affinity
• affection
• proclivity
• knack
• predisposition
• penchant
• propensity
• impulse
• disposition
• bias
• preference
• partiality
• talent
• bent
• addiction
• genius
• bone
• appetite
• habitude
• turn
• leaning
• gift
• prejudice
• flair
• fondness
• liking
• taste
• habit
• partisanship
• favor
• endowment
• like
• speciality
• faculty
• specialty
• idiosyncrasy
• practice
• fancy
• peculiarity
• one-sidedness
• forte
• eccentricity
• quirk
• pattern
• custom
• convention
• singularity
• wont
• way
• routine
• oddity
• trick
• kink

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• aversion
• dislike
• distaste
• disinclination
• allergy
• disfavor
• neutrality
• objectivity
• indifference
• detachment
• impartiality
• disliking
• averseness
• disrelish
• apathy
• nonchalance
• unconcern
• disinterestedness
• insouciance

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun predilection contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of predilection are bias, prejudice, and prepossession. While all these words mean "an attitude of mind that predisposes one to favor something," predilection implies a strong liking deriving from one's temperament or experience.

a predilection for travel

When could bias be used to replace predilection?

Although the words bias and predilection have much in common, bias implies an unreasoned and unfair distortion of judgment in favor of or against a person or thing.

a strong bias toward the plaintiff

When is it sensible to use prejudice instead of predilection?

The words prejudice and predilection can be used in similar contexts, but prejudice usually implies an unfavorable prepossession and connotes a feeling rooted in suspicion, fear, or intolerance.

a mindless prejudice against the unfamiliar

When can prepossession be used instead of predilection?

While the synonyms prepossession and predilection are close in meaning, prepossession suggests a fixed conception likely to preclude objective judgment of anything counter to it.

a prepossession against technology

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of predilection

Not the irony of having a skin-lightening condition (or predilection) while singlehandedly Blackening up the portals of pop music by integrating a music video network that upheld America's racist standard of (in)visibility. — Rodney Carmichael, NPR, 3 June 2026

The president seemingly both relates to, and badly needs to rely on, allies who share his predilection for violating laws and human decency. — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 27 May 2026

By choosing investment banking, an industry almost entirely based in Manhattan, students were expressing a predilection for its unique lifestyle and consumption options. — Literary Hub, 15 May 2026

Only McCarthy could have given us Judge Holden, a bald, sociopathic pedophile with weird skin and a predilection for chaos. — Time, 12 May 2026

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