proclivity

English

Etymology

From Latin prōclīvitās, from prōclīvis (“prone to”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pɹəʊˈklɪvɪti/, /pɹəˈklɪvɪti/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /pɹoʊˈklɪvɪti/, [pɹoʊˈklɪvɪɾi], /pɹoʊˈklɪvəti/, [pɹoʊˈklɪvəɾi], /pɹəˈklɪvɪti/, [pɹəˈklɪvɪɾi]

  • Audio (California):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /pɹəʉˈklɪvɪti/, [pɹəʉˈklɪvɪɾi]
• Rhymes: -ɪvɪti

Noun

proclivity (plural proclivities)

1. A predisposition or natural inclination, propensity, or a predilection; especially, a strong disposition or bent.

   Synonyms: penchant, propensity; see also Thesaurus:predilection

   The child has a proclivity for exaggeration.

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[16]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

     This therefore was the reason why the still comparatively young though dissolute man who now addressed Stephen was spoken of by some with facetious proclivities as Lord John Corley.

   • 1995, Andreu Mas-Colell, Michael D. Whinston, and Jerry R. Green, Microeconomic Theory, Oxford University Press, page 10:

     The idea is that the choice of ${\displaystyle x}$ when facing the alternatives ${\displaystyle \{x,y\}}$ reveals a proclivity for choosing ${\displaystyle x}$ over ${\displaystyle y}$ that we should expect to see reflected in the individual's behavior when faced with the alternatives ${\displaystyle \{x,y,z\}}$.

   • 2016 March 22, Emma Green, quoting Pastor Brown, “Where Is the Church in the Black Lives Matter Movement?”, in The Atlantic‎, archived from the original on 16 April 2019:

     The sermon that morning was ostensibly about healthy sexual relationships, but scathing critiques of capitalism and corporations also got significant airtime. (“I have leftist proclivities,” Brown explained.)

   • 2025 August 4, Mike Isaac, “A.I. Has Ushered in Silicon Valley’s ‘Hard Tech’ Era”, in The New York Times‎, archived from the original on 4 August 2025:

     A contingent of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs have spurred a rightward shift, leading to the rise of the “Liberaltarian” — a term coined by two Stanford political economists to describe the tech industry’s proclivity toward trumpeting liberalism in some social issues but maintaining antigovernment posturing in regulating businesses.

Translations

A predisposition or natural inclination, propensity, or a predilection

Armenian: հակում (hy) (hakum), հակվածություն (hy) (hakvacutʻyun) Bulgarian: склонност (bg) f (sklonnost), тенденция (bg) f (tendencija) Chinese: Cantonese: 傾向 / 倾向 (king1 hoeng3), 癖性 (pik1 sing3) Mandarin: 怪癖 (zh) (guài pǐ) Danish: tilbøjelighed c, tendens c Dutch: aanleg (nl) m, neiging (nl) f Finnish: taipumus (fi) French: propension (fr) f, penchant (fr) m, tendance (fr) f, inclination (fr) f German: Hang (de) m, Vorliebe (de) f, Schwäche (de) f, Neigung (de) f Greek: τάση (el) f (tási), ροπή (el) f (ropí), κλίση (el) f (klísi) Hungarian: hajlam (hu), hajlandóság (hu), hajlamosság (hu) Italian: tendenza (it) f Latin: prōclīvitās f Norwegian: tendens (no) m Polish: skłonność (pl) f Russian: скло́нность (ru) f (sklónnostʹ) Slovak: sklon m, predispozícia f, inklinácia f, tendencia f, záľuba f, zaľúbenie n, slabosť f Spanish: propensión (es) f, tendencia (es) f, inclinación (es) f, afición (es) f, predilección (es) f, gusto (es) m Swedish: böjelse (sv), benägenhet (sv) Turkish: yatkınlık (tr), eğilim (tr), temayül (tr) (obsolete) Ukrainian: схильність f (sxylʹnistʹ), нахил m (naxyl)