tendency
1 ENTRIES FOUND:
plural
tendencies
plural
tendencies
Britannica Dictionary definition of TENDENCY
[count]
1
:
a quality that makes something likely to happen or that makes someone likely to think or behave in a particular way
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The door has a tendency to get stuck. [=the door often gets stuck]
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She has a tendency to overreact. = She has a tendency toward/towards overreacting. [=she tends to overreact; she often overreacts]
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She displayed criminal tendencies [=she behaved in ways that suggested she was going to become a criminal] even when she was very young.
2
:
a way of behaving, proceeding, etc., that is developing and becoming more common
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There is a growing tendency among young people to continue living with their parents after college. [=more and more young people are continuing to live with their parents after college]
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The economy has shown a general tendency toward inflation.
