| / English Dictionary |
INCLINATION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of inclining; bending forward
Example:
an inclination of his head indicated his agreement
Synonyms:
inclination; inclining
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("inclination" is a kind of...):
motility; motion; move; movement (a change of position that does not entail a change of location)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "inclination"):
bob (a short abrupt inclination (as of the head))
nod (the act of nodding the head)
stoop (an inclination of the top half of the body forward and downward)
Derivation:
incline (lower or bend (the head or upper body), as in a nod or bow)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A characteristic likelihood of or natural disposition toward a certain condition or character or effect
Example:
fabric with a tendency to shrink
Synonyms:
inclination; tendency
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("inclination" is a kind of...):
disposition (a natural or acquired habit or characteristic tendency in a person or thing)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "inclination"):
heterosis; hybrid vigor ((genetics) the tendency of a crossbred organism to have qualities superior to those of either parent)
buoyancy (the tendency to float in water or other liquid)
electronegativity; negativity ((chemistry) the tendency of an atom or radical to attract electrons in the formation of an ionic bond)
stainability ((cytology) the capacity of cells or cell parts to stain specifically with certain dyes)
desire (an inclination to want things)
Derivation:
incline (have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the vertical
Example:
he walked with a heavy inclination to the right
Synonyms:
inclination; lean; leaning; list; tilt
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("inclination" is a kind of...):
position; spatial relation (the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated)
Derivation:
incline (be at an angle)
Sense 4
Meaning:
An attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others
Example:
a tendency to be too strict
Synonyms:
disposition; inclination; tendency
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("inclination" is a kind of...):
attitude; mental attitude (a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "inclination"):
impartiality; nonpartisanship (an inclination to weigh both views or opinions equally)
partiality; partisanship (an inclination to favor one group or view or opinion over alternatives)
disapproval; disfavor; disfavour; dislike (an inclination to withhold approval from some person or group)
favor; favour (an inclination to approve)
predisposition (an inclination beforehand to interpret statements in a particular way)
perseveration (the tendency for a memory or idea to persist or recur without any apparent stimulus for it)
literalism (a disposition to interpret statements in their literal sense)
bent; set (a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way)
leaning; proclivity; propensity (a natural inclination)
favoritism; favouritism (an inclination to favor some person or group)
sympathy; understanding (an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion)
devices (an inclination or desire; used in the plural in the phrase 'left to your own devices')
denominationalism (the tendency, in Protestantism, to separate into religious denominations or to advocate such separations)
Call (a special disposition (as if from a divine source) to pursue a particular course)
drift; movement; trend (a general tendency to change (as of opinion))
direction (a general course along which something has a tendency to develop)
Derivation:
incline (make receptive or willing towards an action or attitude or belief)
incline (have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined)
Sense 5
Meaning:
That toward which you are inclined to feel a liking
Example:
her inclination is for classical music
Classified under:
Nouns denoting feelings and emotions
Hypernyms ("inclination" is a kind of...):
liking (a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "inclination"):
leaning; propensity; tendency (an inclination to do something)
stomach (an inclination or liking for things involving conflict or difficulty or unpleasantness)
undertow (an inclination contrary to the strongest or prevailing feeling)
Antonym:
disinclination (that toward which you are inclined to feel dislike)
Derivation:
incline (make receptive or willing towards an action or attitude or belief)
incline (have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined)
Sense 6
Meaning:
(geometry) the angle formed by the x-axis and a given line (measured counterclockwise from the positive half of the x-axis)
Synonyms:
angle of inclination; inclination
Classified under:
Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes
Hypernyms ("inclination" is a kind of...):
angle (the space between two lines or planes that intersect; the inclination of one line to another; measured in degrees or radians)
Domain category:
geometry (the pure mathematics of points and lines and curves and surfaces)
Derivation:
incline (be at an angle)
Sense 7
Meaning:
(astronomy) the angle between the plane of the orbit and the plane of the ecliptic stated in degrees
Synonyms:
inclination; inclination of an orbit
Classified under:
Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes
Hypernyms ("inclination" is a kind of...):
angle (the space between two lines or planes that intersect; the inclination of one line to another; measured in degrees or radians)
Domain category:
astronomy; uranology (the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole)
Derivation:
incline (be at an angle)
Sense 8
Meaning:
(physics) the angle that a magnetic needle makes with the plane of the horizon
Synonyms:
angle of dip; dip; inclination; magnetic dip; magnetic inclination
Classified under:
Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes
Hypernyms ("inclination" is a kind of...):
angle (the space between two lines or planes that intersect; the inclination of one line to another; measured in degrees or radians)
Domain category:
natural philosophy; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)
Derivation:
incline (be at an angle)
Context examples:
But if it be only a slight, thin sort of inclination, I am convinced that one good sonnet will starve it entirely away.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
The inclination of one line to another or the plane of one object to another.
(Angle, NCI Thesaurus)
That model closely predicted the asteroid’s actual shape, with Bennu’s diameter, rotation rate, inclination, and overall shape presented almost exactly as projected.
(NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Discovers Water on Asteroid, NASA)
I had no time to try my other pistol, nor indeed much inclination, for I was sure it would be useless.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
He was small and very plainly dressed and the look of him, even at that distance, went somehow strongly against the watcher’s inclination.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Have you any inclination to go with me?
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
Inclination as well as perversity made the decision easy, and being already much excited, Meg opposed the old lady with unusual spirit.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
The wolf-dogs, clustered on the far side of the fire, snarled and bickered among themselves, but evinced no inclination to stray off into the darkness.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
They have certain professors well skilled in preparing children for such a condition of life as befits the rank of their parents, and their own capacities, as well as inclinations.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
“I have neither aptitude nor inclination for fiction.”
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
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