1. Movement or prevailing movement in a given direction: observed the tendency of the wind; the shoreward tendency of the current.
2. A characteristic likelihood: fabric that has a tendency to wrinkle.
3. A predisposition to think, act, behave, or proceed in a particular way.
4. 1. An implicit direction or purpose: not openly liberal, but that is the tendency of the book.
   2. An implicit point of view in written or spoken matter; a bias.

[Medieval Latin tendentia, from Latin tendēns, tendent-, present participle of tendere, to tend. See tend¹.]

SYNONYMS   tendency, trend, current, drift, tenor, inclination. 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: "the trend of religious thought in recent times" (James Harvey Robinson). 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 shifting current: a drift toward communism in Latin America. Tenor implies a continuous, unwavering course: "His conduct was ... uniform and unvarying in its tenor" (Frederick Marryat). Inclination usually refers to an individual's propensity for or disposition toward one thing rather than another: an inclination to overindulge in sweets.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.