The meaning of TENDENCY is a proneness to a particular kind of thought or action. How to use tendency in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Tendency.

If there is a tendency to do something, it starts to happen more often or starts to increase:

A tendency is a worrying or unpleasant habit or action that keeps occurring. ...the government's tendency to secrecy in recent years.

Definition of tendency noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

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).

Tendency, direction, trend, drift refer to inclination or line of action or movement. A tendency is an inclination toward a certain line of action (whether or not the action follows), and is often the result of …

A tendency is an inclination toward a certain line of action (whether or not the action follows), and is often the result of inherent qualities, nature, or habit: a tendency to procrastinate.

A tendency is an inclination to do something. For example, dogs have a tendency to bark at strangers and the mail man.

Jan 3, 2026 · Noun tendency (plural tendencies) A likelihood of behaving in a particular way or going in a particular direction; a tending toward.

TENDENCY meaning: 1 : a quality that makes something likely to happen or that makes someone likely to think or behave in a particular way; 2 : a way of behaving, proceeding, etc., that is developing and …