Dictionary

propensity en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /pɹəˈpɛnsɪti/
• (California) audio Santa Clara

Etymology

Learned borrowing from New Latin prōpensitās. By surface analysis, propense (“inclined, disposed”) + -ity.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) An inclination, disposition, tendency, preference, or attraction.
   • I must own they do dearly delight in a judgment; and sorry am I that I cannot gratify this laudable propensity by specifying some peculiar evil incurred by Mr. Delawarr's ambition, or Lady Etheringhame's vanity. 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Last Chapter”, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 326:
   • Here their peculiar propensities manifest themselves in making shibboleths of abstractions, in rationalizing and carrying to extremes certain ambitions which spring from the normal intercourse of men. 1949, F. A. Hayek, “The Intellectuals and Socialism”, in University of Chicago Law Review, volume 16, number 3, Chicago: University of Chicago, →DOI, page 424:
   • He had a tremendous propensity for getting lost when driving. 1988, Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, William Heinemann Ltd, page 29:
   • To the psychologist the religious propensities of man must be at least as interesting as any other of the facts pertaining to his mental constitution. It would seem, therefore, that, as a psychologist, the natural thing for me would be to invite you to a descriptive survey of those religious propensities. 1902, William James, “Lecture I”, in The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature […] , New York, N.Y.; London: Longmans, Green, and Co. […], →OCLC:
   • He has a propensity for lengthy discussions of certain favorite topics.
   • Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents. 2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193:

Forms

Deriveds

low-propensity

Relateds

propend · propense

Synonyms

fancy · proclivity · predisposition · jam · propensity · propension · predisposition · propension · cup of tea · proclivity · cup of coffee · shine · thing · taste · partiality · love · bent · predilection · penchant · tilt · preference · liking · cup of joe · bag · predilection · affinity · dish

Translations (57)

bg тенде́нция (tendency) · oc predileccion (tendency) · fi taipumus (tendency) · it tendenza (tendency) · ro predilecție (tendency) · ka მიდრეკილება (tendency) · de Tendenz (tendency) · fr tendance (tendency) · sv benägenhet (tendency) · it propensione (tendency) · pt propensão (tendency) · fa گرایش (tendency) · fa میل (tendency) · bg накло́нност (tendency) · nl geneigdheid (tendency) · tr meyelan (tendency) · ja 傾向 (tendency) · el τάση (tendency) · hu hajlam (tendency) · mk скло́ност (tendency) · fr propension (tendency) · pt inclinação (tendency) · ja 性向 (tendency) · pt tendência (tendency) · sv förkärlek (tendency) · de Neigung (tendency) · gl propensión (tendency) · is tilhneigingu (tendency) · it inclinazione (tendency) · pl skłonność (tendency) · az meyil (tendency) · sv tendens (tendency) · oc tendéncia (tendency) · bg скло́нност (tendency) · ru скло́нность (tendency) · oc propension (tendency) · el ροπή (tendency) · nl beheptheid (tendency) · pt predisposição (tendency) · uk схильність (tendency) · pt predileção (tendency) · el κλίση (tendency) · da tilbøjelighed (tendency) · hi प्रवृत्ति (tendency) · tr temayül (tendency) · ca propensió (tendency) · ro tendință (tendency) · bg предразположе́ние (tendency) · ml പ്രവണത (tendency) · no tilbøyelighet (tendency) · nl neiging (tendency) · sv böjelse (tendency) · ar ميل (tendency) · da tendens (tendency) · tr eğilim (tendency) · tr meyil (tendency) · la prōpensiō (tendency)