ˈtendənsē, -si noun
( -es )
Etymology: Medieval Latin tendentia, from Latin tendent-, tendens (present participle of tendere to tend) + -ia -y
1.
a. : direction or course toward a place, object, effect, or result : bias , inclination
regarded political economy as a science of tendencies only — R.H.Hutton
that tendency in art which has been called abstract — Herbert Read
b. : a proneness to or readiness for a particular kind of thought or action : drive , propensity , set
disliked the tendency of amateur diplomats to burst into print — H.G.Dwight
my instinctive tendency has always been to temperance — Havelock Ellis
c. : a presumptive course of future behavior in continuation of observed acts and attitudes
2.
a. : the designed and purposeful trend of something written or said : aim
an evident tendency on the part of the writers to enlarge on the blessings of nature — R.H.Brown
b. : deliberate but indirect advocacy (as in speech or writing) of a particular point of view
a policy at once plausible and insidious, temporizing and yet thick with tendency — Francis Hackett
Synonyms:
tendency , trend , drift , tenor , current can mean a movement in a particular direction or of a particular character or the direction or character of such a movement. tendency usually implies an inherent or acquired inclination to move in a given direction, literally or figuratively, sometimes suggesting something opposable and alterable with great difficulty in the long run
the whole tendency of evolution is towards a diminishing birthrate — Havelock Ellis
a tendency toward lower prices for some equipment — Nation's Business
the revolutionary oil is designed to decrease the tendency of engines to knock — Report: Union Oil Co. of California
has not escaped that tendency to violence — G.B.Shaw
the tendency to moralize — Bliss Perry
trend is a general direction maintained despite minor deviations, differing from tendency in usually implying a direction more subject to change
by trend is meant a persistent general movement in the direction of some distant goal as yet underfined or only vaguely held — C.A.Dawson & W.E.Gettys
the national trend toward corporate control and mass production — American Guide Series: Ind.
a trend toward a favorable balance of trade — R.E.Scott
the trend of his mind was historical — H.N.Fowler
drift adds to trend the idea of a slowness and seeming indirection, often a meandering or uncertain quality, often a direction the objective of which is not overt or obvious to a quick view
a more general process of internal migration that involved both regional shifts and a drift to the cities — Oscar Handlin
vigorous protest against the drift toward revolution — H.J.Thornton
saw the drift of the fellow's intentions — Rafael Sabatini
the drift and meaning of the story — Gilbert Parker
tenor is very close to drift but applies more commonly and specifically to the import of statements or documents and suggests more certainty and clearness
the whole tenor of the teaching of Jesus — W.F.Hambly
the general tenor or direction of the talks — Bernard Smith
one frightening aspect of the tenor of the times — V.M.Rogers
current implies a movement of course more clearly defined and of more distinct identity and some substance
the current of opinion and the whole drift of feeling — W.C.Brownell
the very central current of the evolution of medieval Latin poetry — H.O.Taylor
he has not … changed the current of our constitutional law — M.R.Cohen