propensity
a strong tendency to do something
TRANSLATION
propensity = Neigung, Tendenz, Hang (Vorliebe) propensity to buy = Kauflust propensity to exaggerate = Hang zur Übertreibung propensity to / towards violence = Gewaltbereitschaft --- GOOGLE INDEX propensity: approximately 13,200,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Such is the national PROPENSITY for sending people to jail, that the prison system could be "entirely full" by the summer, the Prison Reform Trust warns.
BBC News
BBC News
Did you
know?
propensity
noun
- a strong natural tendency to do something
(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
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The word propensity has its roots in the Latin propendēre, a verb meaning "to incline" or "to hang forward or down". Why this is used to talk about a tendency may not be clear at first. But a propensity is a tendency that is hard to resist. (She has a propensity to talk too much)
An incline is a downward slant, slope or angle. When talking about tendency, you can also use the phrase, "be inclined to" do or think something. A synonym for propensity is inclination.
So let's consider the propensity of objects to obey the law of gravity. Think of a round object rolling down a hill. The object gathers speed and soon needs no further source of power. Similarly, if you start running slowly down a hill, you will probably get faster and faster and faster until have a hard time stopping yourself.
Propensity can be found in specific expressions, too. For example, in economics, the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) and the marginal propensity to save (MPS) measure the tendency of people to spend or to save any extra income they may have.
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SYNONYMS
inclination, leaning, preference, liking, instinct
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Don't believe everything he says, he has a propensity to exaggerate."
noun
- a strong natural tendency to do something
(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
---
The word propensity has its roots in the Latin propendēre, a verb meaning "to incline" or "to hang forward or down". Why this is used to talk about a tendency may not be clear at first. But a propensity is a tendency that is hard to resist. (She has a propensity to talk too much)
An incline is a downward slant, slope or angle. When talking about tendency, you can also use the phrase, "be inclined to" do or think something. A synonym for propensity is inclination.
So let's consider the propensity of objects to obey the law of gravity. Think of a round object rolling down a hill. The object gathers speed and soon needs no further source of power. Similarly, if you start running slowly down a hill, you will probably get faster and faster and faster until have a hard time stopping yourself.
Propensity can be found in specific expressions, too. For example, in economics, the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) and the marginal propensity to save (MPS) measure the tendency of people to spend or to save any extra income they may have.
---
SYNONYMS
inclination, leaning, preference, liking, instinct
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Don't believe everything he says, he has a propensity to exaggerate."
