tendency

ten·den·cy

T0102700 (tĕn′dən-sē)n. pl. ten·den·cies 1. a. A characteristic likelihood: fabric that has a tendency to wrinkle.b. A predisposition to think, act, or proceed in a particular way: his tendency to exaggerate.c. A characteristic pattern or point of view: the book's tendency to oversimplify events.2. Movement or prevailing movement in a given direction: observed the tendency of the wind; the shoreward tendency of the current.

---

[Medieval Latin tendentia, from Latin tendēns, tendent-, present participle of tendere, to tend; see tend¹.]Synonyms: tendency, trend, current, drift, tenor
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: "What makes time an arrow is entropy, the coming apart of all things, the universal trend toward disorder" (Jennifer Ackerman).
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 current of events: a drift toward anarchy as the government collapsed. Tenor implies a general or ongoing course: "The tempo, the tenor of life on the mountain and around the mine began to change" (Anita Desai).

tendency

(ˈtɛndənsɪ) n, pl -cies1. (often foll by to) an inclination, predisposition, propensity, or leaning: she has a tendency to be frivolous; a tendency to frivolity. 2. the general course, purport, or drift of something, esp a written work3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a faction, esp one within a political party: the militant tendency. [C17: from Medieval Latin tendentia, from Latin tendere to tend¹]

ten•den•cy

(ˈtɛn dən si)

n., pl. -cies. 1. a natural or prevailing disposition to move, proceed, or act in some direction or toward some point, end, or result. 2. an inclination, bent, or predisposition to something. 3. a special and definite purpose in a novel or other literary work. [1620–30; < Medieval Latin tendentia. See tend¹, -ency]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	tendency - 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"inclination, dispositionattitude, mental attitude - a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways; "he had the attitude that work was fun"direction - a general course along which something has a tendency to develop; "I couldn't follow the direction of his thoughts"; "his ideals determined the direction of his career"; "they proposed a new direction for the firm"trend, drift, movement - a general tendency to change (as of opinion); "not openly liberal but that is the trend of the book"; "a broad movement of the electorate to the right"Call - a special disposition (as if from a divine source) to pursue a particular course; "he was disappointed that he had not heard the Call"denominationalism - the tendency, in Protestantism, to separate into religious denominations or to advocate such separationsdevices - an inclination or desire; used in the plural in the phrase `left to your own devices'; "eventually the family left the house to the devices of this malevolent force"; "the children were left to their own devices"sympathy, understanding - an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion; "his sympathies were always with the underdog"; "I knew I could count on his understanding"favoritism, favouritism - an inclination to favor some person or groupproclivity, propensity, leaning - a natural inclination; "he has a proclivity for exaggeration"bent, set - a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way; "the set of his mind was obvious"literalism - a disposition to interpret statements in their literal senseperseveration - the tendency for a memory or idea to persist or recur without any apparent stimulus for itpredisposition - an inclination beforehand to interpret statements in a particular wayfavour, favor - an inclination to approve; "that style is in favor this season"dislike, disfavor, disfavour, disapproval - an inclination to withhold approval from some person or grouppartisanship, partiality - an inclination to favor one group or view or opinion over alternativesimpartiality, nonpartisanship - an inclination to weigh both views or opinions equally
	2.	tendency - an inclination to do something; "he felt leanings toward frivolity"leaning, propensityinclination - that toward which you are inclined to feel a liking; "her inclination is for classical music"
	3.	tendency - 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"inclinationheterosis, hybrid vigor - (genetics) the tendency of a crossbred organism to have qualities superior to those of either parentdisposition - a natural or acquired habit or characteristic tendency in a person or thing; "a swelling with a disposition to rupture"buoyancy - the tendency to float in water or other liquidelectronegativity, negativity - (chemistry) the tendency of an atom or radical to attract electrons in the formation of an ionic bondstainability - (cytology) the capacity of cells or cell parts to stain specifically with certain dyesdesire - an inclination to want things; "a man of many desires"
	4.	tendency - a general direction in which something tends to move; "the shoreward tendency of the current"; "the trend of the stock market"trenddirection, way - a line leading to a place or point; "he looked the other direction"; "didn't know the way home"

tendency

noun1. trend, drift, movement, turning, heading, course, drive, bearing, direction, bias the government's tendency towards secrecy in recent years2. inclination, leaning, bent, liability, readiness, disposition, penchant, propensity, susceptibility, predisposition, predilection, proclivity, partiality, proneness He has a tendency towards snobbery.

tendency

noun1. An inclination to something:bent, bias, cast, disposition, leaning, partiality, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, proneness, propensity, squint, trend, turn.2. The thread or current of thought uniting or occurring in all the elements of a text or discourse:aim, burden, drift, intent, meaning, purport, substance, tenor, thrust.

Translations

倾向趋向

tend²

(tend) verb1. to be likely (to do something); to do (something) frequently. Plants tend to die in hot weather; He tends to get angry. 趨向 趋向2. to move, lean or slope in a certain direction. This bicycle tends to(wards) the left. 走向 走向ˈtendency – plural ˈtendencies – noun likelihood; inclination. He has a tendency to forget things. 趨向, 傾向 趋向，倾向

tendency

→ 倾向zhCN