as in inclinations
a habitual attraction to some activity or thing
a young lad with a predilection for telling tall tales
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Recent Examples of predilections
But tell that to the phalanx of local and national entities — from community boards to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission — that don't share their predilections.
—
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 18 Jan. 2026
The big unknown, of course, is how long Trump is willing to stay selling the idea, and whether Republicans will bend to his predilections.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 14 Jan. 2026
PlatinumGames share many of the same predilections at Team Ninja (mainly boobs and violence) but carved their own niche as the creators of hyper-kinetic action games like Bayonetta that stretch the boundaries of what the human attention span can manage.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2025
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 18 Jan. 2026
The big unknown, of course, is how long Trump is willing to stay selling the idea, and whether Republicans will bend to his predilections.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 14 Jan. 2026
PlatinumGames share many of the same predilections at Team Ninja (mainly boobs and violence) but carved their own niche as the creators of hyper-kinetic action games like Bayonetta that stretch the boundaries of what the human attention span can manage.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predilections
Noun
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Trump’s inclinations to make every race about him could foul this for the GOP.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
26 Jan. 2026
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The trick is to select a paint color that is calming and neutral enough so as not to be too visually demanding, while also speaking to your personal style and color inclinations.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
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What Don’t Be Dumb does effectively, however, is reestablish Rocky’s auteur-ish tendencies for 2020s hip-hop, drawing throughline between his mixtape days and the raucous, rage-minded sounds that course through much of contemporary rap.—
Carl Lamarre,
Billboard,
29 Jan. 2026
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To tap into each other’s tendencies, to establish chemistry as pick-and-roll partners.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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This model reflects Japan’s long-standing corporate culture, which prioritizes new hires for their general potential—their aptitudes and aspirations, as opposed to their current skill sets or university majors—and then trains them on the job.—
GRACIA LIU-FARRER,
Foreign Affairs,
18 Nov. 2025
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More money is apt to make homeschooling worse and far less tailored to the individual student and their interests and aptitudes by encouraging parents to substitute pricey group programs for the requisite effort of individualized instruction.—
Marie Sapirie,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The driving rock guitars and layered vocal textures recall TV on the Radio’s experimentation, and Galanin shares certain vocal and political affinities with Moses Sumney.—
Petala Ironcloud,
Pitchfork,
20 Jan. 2026
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China’s global influence is further constrained by weak cultural affinities with other countries.—
Zongyuan Zoe Liu,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Predilections.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predilections. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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