inclination

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. propensity, leaning, bent, predisposition; fondness, liking; predilection; slope, slant, ramp. See tendency, will, obliquity.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [A tendency]

Syn. bent, bias, propensity, predilection, partiality, penchant, proclivity, leaning, predisposition, attachment, capability, capacity, proneness, aptness, fondness, disposition, liking, preference, movement, susceptibility, weakness, drift, trend, turn, slant, impulse, attraction, affection, affinity, deSire, temperament, whim, idiosyncrasy, urge, persuasion.

2. [A bow]

Syn. bend, bending, bowing; see bow 2 .

3. [A slope]

Syn. grade, downgrade, incline; see hill .

4. [A trend]

Syn. slant, direction, bent; see drift 1 .

5. [A slant]

Syn. pitch, slope, incline, angle, ramp, declivity, bevel, acclivity, bank, lean, list, tilt; see also grade 1 .

Syn.- inclination refers to a more or less vague mental disposition toward some action, practice, or thing [ he had an inclination to refuse ] ; leaning suggests a general inclination toward something but implies only the direction of attraction and not the final choice [ Dr. Green had always had a leaning toward the study of law ] ; bent and propensity imply a natural or inherent inclination coupled with a skill or ability, the latter also connoting an almost uncontrollable attraction [ she has a bent for art, he has a propensity for getting into trouble ] ; proclivity usually suggests strong inclination as a result of habitual indulgence, usually toward something bad or wrong [ a proclivity to falsehood ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

disposition, tendency, proclivity, bent, penchant, propensity, leaning, drift, bias, predilection, preference.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun Deviation from a particular direction: cant1, grade, gradient, heel2, incline, lean1, list2, rake2, slant, slope, tilt, tip2. See RISE, STRAIGHT.