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inclination

You can see the word "incline" inside inclination, which clues you in to the fact that inclination has to do with leaning. Sometimes the inclination is literal; in most cases it's about what you incline toward in a figurative sense.

An inclination is something you are leaning toward, a tendency you have. You could have a specific inclination for chocolate, or you could have an inclination that applies to a decision you are about to make: "Looking at this dessert menu, my inclination is to skip everything and just go home and have a chocolate bar."

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: inclination

1	n	the act of inclining; bending forward
2	n	a characteristic likelihood of or natural disposition toward a certain condition or character or effect

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: inclination

n the act of inclining; bending forward

“an inclination of his head indicated his agreement”

Synonyms:: inclining

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; bob
a short abrupt inclination (as of the head); nod
the act of nodding the head; stoop
an inclination of the top half of the body forward and downward; nutation
uncontrolled nodding

Type of:: motility, motion, move, movement
a change of position that does not entail a change of location

n the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the vertical

“he walked with a heavy inclination to the right”

Synonyms:: lean, leaning, list, tilt

Type of:: position, spatial relation
the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated

n (geometry) the angle formed by the x-axis and a given line (measured counterclockwise from the positive half of the x-axis)

Synonyms:: angle of inclination

Type of:: angle
the space between two lines or planes that intersect; the inclination of one line to another; measured in degrees or radians

n (astronomy) the angle between the plane of the orbit and the plane of the ecliptic stated in degrees

Synonyms:: inclination of an orbit

Type of:: angle
the space between two lines or planes that intersect; the inclination of one line to another; measured in degrees or radians

n (physics) the angle that a magnetic needle makes with the plane of the horizon

Synonyms:: angle of dip, dip, magnetic dip, magnetic inclination

Type of:: angle
the space between two lines or planes that intersect; the inclination of one line to another; measured in degrees or radians

n a characteristic likelihood of or natural disposition toward a certain condition or character or effect

“the alkaline inclination of the local waters”

Synonyms:: tendency

Types:: show 8 types...; hide 8 types...; heterosis, hybrid vigor
(genetics) the tendency of a crossbred organism to have qualities superior to those of either parent; buoyancy
the tendency to float in water or other liquid; electronegativity, negativity
(chemistry) the tendency of an atom or radical to attract electrons in the formation of an ionic bond; stainability
(cytology) the capacity of cells or cell parts to stain specifically with certain dyes; desire
an inclination to want things; basophilia
the tendency of cells to stain with basic dyes; hunger, hungriness, thirst, thirstiness
strong desire for something (not food or drink); greed
excessive desire to acquire or possess more (especially more material wealth) than one needs or deserves

Type of:: disposition
a natural or acquired habit or characteristic tendency in a person or thing

n an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others

“he had an inclination to give up too easily”

Synonyms:: disposition, tendency

Types:: show 31 types...; hide 31 types...; direction
a general course along which something has a tendency to develop; drift, movement, trend
a general tendency to change (as of opinion); Call
a special disposition (as if from a divine source) to pursue a particular course; denominationalism
the tendency, in Protestantism, to separate into religious denominations or to advocate such separations; devices
an inclination or desire; used in the plural in the phrase `left to your own devices'; sympathy, understanding
an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion; favoritism, favouritism
an inclination to favor some person or group; leaning, proclivity, propensity
a natural inclination; bent, set
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way; literalism
a disposition to interpret statements in their literal sense; perseveration
the tendency for a memory or idea to persist or recur without any apparent stimulus for it; predisposition
an inclination beforehand to interpret statements in a particular way; favor, favour
an inclination to approve; disapproval, disfavor, disfavour, dislike
an inclination to withhold approval from some person or group; partiality, partisanship
an inclination to favor one group or view or opinion over alternatives; impartiality, nonpartisanship
an inclination to weigh both views or opinions equally; tenor
a settled or prevailing or habitual course of a person's life; evolutionary trend
a general direction of evolutionary change; gravitation
a figurative movement toward some attraction; orientation, predilection, preference
a predisposition in favor of something; doghouse
an idiomatic term for being in disfavor; reprobation
severe disapproval; anthropocentricity, anthropocentrism
an inclination to evaluate reality exclusively in terms of human values; ethnocentrism
belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group; Eurocentrism
belief in the preeminence of Europe and the Europeans; bias, preconception, prejudice
a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation; tilt
a slight but noticeable partiality; localism, provincialism, sectionalism
a partiality for some particular place; unfairness
partiality that is not fair or equitable; disinterestedness
freedom from bias or from selfish motives; candor, candour, fair-mindedness, fairness
ability to make judgments free from discrimination or dishonesty

Type of:: attitude, mental attitude
a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways

n that toward which you are inclined to feel a liking

“her inclination is for classical music”

Antonyms:: disinclination
that toward which you are inclined to feel dislike

Types:: leaning, propensity, tendency
an inclination to do something; stomach
an inclination or liking for things involving conflict or difficulty or unpleasantness; undertow
an inclination contrary to the strongest or prevailing feeling

Type of:: liking
a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment

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