tendency

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 an inclination to do something
noun a characteristic likelihood of or natural disposition toward a certain condition or character or effect

From Medieval Latin tendentia, from tendens, present participle of tendō.

Evil tendencies are early shown. — Aesop's Fables; a new translation, Aesop
Lefferts has definite paranoid tendencies, he says." — Occasion ... for Disaster, Randall Garrett
Multitudes have a tendency to accept the master. — Les Misérables, Victor Hugo

inclination, disposition

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning