Adjacent Words

propensity definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an inclination to do something; "he felt leanings toward frivolity" [syn: leaning, propensity, tendency]
2: a natural inclination; "he has a proclivity for exaggeration" [syn: proclivity, propensity, leaning]
3: a disposition to behave in a certain way; "the aptness of iron to rust"; "the propensity of disease to spread" [syn: aptness, propensity]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -ties) Date: 1570 an often intense natural inclination or preference Synonyms: see leaning

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) an inclination or tendency (has a propensity for wandering). Etymology: propense f. L propensus inclined, past part. of propendere (as PRO-(1), pendere hang)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Propensity Pro*pen"si*ty, n.; pl. Propensities. The quality or state of being propense; natural inclination; disposition to do good or evil; bias; bent; tendency. ``A propensity to utter blasphemy.'' --Macaulay. Syn: Disposition; bias; inclination; proclivity; proneness; bent; tendency.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(propensities) A propensity to do something or a propensity for something is a natural tendency that you have to behave in a particular way. (FORMAL) Mr Bint has a propensity to put off decisions to the last minute... N-COUNT: oft N to-inf, N for n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Inclination, proneness, disposition, bias, proclivity, ply.

Moby Thesaurus

a thing for, affinity, an ear for, an eye for, animus, aptitude, aptness, bent, bias, capacity for, cast, character, conatus, conduciveness, constitution, delight, diathesis, disposition, eagerness, eccentricity, fancy, fascination, favor, feeling for, felicity, flair, genius for, gift for, grain, idiosyncrasy, inclination, inclining, individualism, innate aptitude, kidney, leaning, liability, liking, make, makeup, mental set, mettle, mind, mind-set, mold, mutual affinity, mutual attraction, nature, partiality, penchant, predilection, predisposition, preference, prejudice, probability, proclivity, proneness, readiness, sensitivity to, set, slant, soft spot, stamp, strain, streak, stripe, susceptibility, sympathy, temper, temperament, tendency, tropism, turn, turn for, turn of mind, twist, type, warp, weakness, willingness