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tendency
5 dictionary results for: tendency
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ten·den·cy       [ten-duhn-see] Pronunciation Key
–noun, plural -cies.
1.a natural or prevailing disposition to move, proceed, or act in some direction or toward some point, end, or result: the tendency of falling bodies toward the earth.
2.an inclination, bent, or predisposition to something: a tendency to talk too much.
3.a special and definite purpose in a novel or other literary work.
[Origin: 1620–30; < ML tendentia. See tend1, -ency]

—Synonyms 1. Tendency, direction, trend, drift refer to inclination or line of action or movement. A tendency is an inclination toward a certain line of action (whether or not the action follows), and is often the result of inherent qualities, nature, or habit: a tendency to procrastinate. Direction is the line along which an object or course of action moves, often toward some set point or intended goal: The change is in the direction of improvement. Trend emphasizes simultaneous movement in a certain direction of a number of factors, although the course or goal may not be clear for any single feature: Business indicators showed a downward trend. Drift emphasizes gradual development as well as direction: the drift of his argument. 2. proclivity, leaning.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ten·den·cy       (těn'dən-sē)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   pl. ten·den·cies
  1. Movement or prevailing movement in a given direction: observed the tendency of the wind; the shoreward tendency of the current.
  2. A characteristic likelihood: fabric that has a tendency to wrinkle.
  3. A predisposition to think, act, behave, or proceed in a particular way.
    1. An implicit direction or purpose: not openly liberal, but that is the tendency of the book.
    2. An implicit point of view in written or spoken matter; a bias.


[Medieval Latin tendentia, from Latin tendēns, tendent-, present participle of tendere, to tend; see tend1.]

Synonyms: These nouns refer to the direction or course of an action or thought. Tendency implies a predisposition to proceed in a particular way: "The tendency of our own day is ... towards firm, solid, verifiable knowledge" (William H. Mallock).
Trend often applies to a general or prevailing direction, especially within a particular sphere: "the trend of religious thought in recent times" (James Harvey Robinson).
Current suggests a course or flow, as of opinion, especially one representative of a given time or place: "the whole current of modern feeling" (James Bryce).
A drift is a tendency that seems driven by a shifting current: a drift toward communism in Latin America.
Tenor implies a continuous, unwavering course: "His conduct was ... uniform and unvarying in its tenor" (Frederick Marryat).
Inclination usually refers to an individual's propensity for or disposition toward one thing rather than another: an inclination to overindulge in sweets.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tendency 
1628, from M.L. tendentia "inclination, leaning," from L. tendens, prp. of tendere "to stretch, aim" (see tenet). Tendentious is recorded from 1900, after Ger. tendenziös.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
tendency

noun
1. an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others; "he had an inclination to give up too easily"; "a tendency to be too strict" [syn: inclination] 
2. an inclination to do something; "he felt leanings toward frivolity" [syn: leaning] 
3. a characteristic likelihood of or natural disposition toward a certain condition or character or effect; "the alkaline inclination of the local waters"; "fabric with a tendency to shrink" 
4. a general direction in which something tends to move; "the shoreward tendency of the current"; "the trend of the stock market" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tendency

Tend"en*cy\, n.; pl. Tendencies. [L. tendents, -entis, p. pr. of tendere: cf. F. tendance. See Tend to move.] Direction or course toward any place, object, effect, or result; drift; causal or efficient influence to bring about an effect or result.

Writings of this kind, if conducted with candor, have a more particular tendency to the good of their country. --Addison.

In every experimental science, there is a tendency toward perfection. --Macaulay.

Syn: Disposition; inclination; proneness; drift; scope; aim.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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