inclination

[ in-kluh-ney-shuhn ]
See synonyms for: inclinationinclinations on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a disposition or bent, especially of the mind or will; a liking or preference: Much against his inclination, he was forced to resign.

  2. something to which one is inclined: In sports his inclination is tennis.

  1. the act of inclining; state of being inclined.

  2. a tendency toward a certain condition, action, etc.: the door's inclination to stick.

  3. deviation or amount of deviation from a normal, especially horizontal or vertical, direction or position.

  4. an inclined surface.

  5. Geometry.

    • the angle between two lines or two planes.

    • the angle formed by the x-axis and a given line.

  6. Astronomy.

    • the angle between the orbital plane of a planet and another given plane, usually the ecliptic.

    • the angle between the equatorial and orbital planes of a planet.

  7. Magnetism. dip1 (def. 32).

Origin of inclination

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English inclinacioun, from Latin inclīnātiōn-, stem of inclīnātiō, from inclīnāt(us) “caused to bend” (past participle of inclīnāre “to cause to bend”; see incline) + -iō -ion

Other words for inclination

Opposites for inclination

Other words from inclination

  • in·cli·na·tion·al, adjective
  • non·in·cli·na·tion, noun
  • non·in·cli·na·tion·al, adjective
  • o·ver·in·cli·na·tion, noun
  • su·per·in·cli·na·tion, noun

Words Nearby inclination

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use inclination in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for inclination

inclination

/ (ˌɪnklɪˈneɪʃən) /


noun
  1. (often foll by for, to, towards, or an infinitive) a particular disposition, esp a liking or preference; tendency: I've no inclination for such dull work

  2. the degree of deviation from a particular plane, esp a horizontal or vertical plane

  1. a sloping or slanting surface; incline

  2. the act of inclining or the state of being inclined

  3. the act of bowing or nodding the head

  4. maths

    • the angle between a line on a graph and the positive limb of the x- axis

    • the smaller dihedral angle between one plane and another

  5. astronomy the angle between the plane of the orbit of a planet or comet and another plane, usually that of the ecliptic

  6. physics another name for dip (def. 28)

Derived forms of inclination

  • inclinational, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for inclination

inclination

[ ĭn′klə-nāshən ]


  1. A deviation or the degree of deviation from the horizontal or vertical.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.