propensity
/prəˈpɛnsɪti
/noun (plural propensities)
An inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way: his propensity for violence [with infinitive]: their innate propensity to attack one another...
- Those that succeed do so with grace and with what seems to be a natural propensity to invent.
- It is better to look for those tulips with a natural propensity for repeat performance.
- On the other side of the coin, restrictive policies bring about an inhibiting econo-socio-political environment, which restrains the blossoming of a society's natural propensities.
Synonyms
tendency, inclination, predisposition, proneness, proclivity, readiness, susceptibility, liability, disposition;
aptness, penchant, leaning, predilection, bent, habit, weakness
Origin
Late 16th century: from archaic propense (from Latin propensus 'inclined', past participle of propendere, from pro- 'forward, down' + pendere 'hang') + -ity.