inclination

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others
noun (astronomy) the angle between the plane of the orbit and the plane of the ecliptic stated in degrees
noun (geometry) the angle formed by the x-axis and a given line (measured counterclockwise from the positive half of the x-axis)

From Middle English inclinacioun, inclinacyon, from Old French inclination and Latin inclīnātiō. Morphologically incline + -ation.

An inclination of the head is all the answer vouchsafed. — A Stable for Nightmares; or, Weird Tales, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
He felt an unaccountable inclination to enter into conversation with people. — Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Her attire was somewhat nondescript, and entirely unsuggestive of literary inclinations. — John Gayther's Garden and the Stories Told Therein, Frank R. Stockton

disposition, tendency

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