Incline

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ɪnˈklaɪn/

Definitions

1. A sloping surface or the tendency to lean toward a particular opinion or action
2. A surface that slopes upward or downward, along with a predisposition toward a specific belief or inclination to act in a certain way
3. An upward or downward slope, combined with a tendency to favor a specific perspective or course of action

Etymology: Latin "inclīnāre" is built from "in-" ("toward") and "clīnāre" ("to bend"), and the same root gives English words such as "recline" and "decline". Its underlying Indo-European root, *ḱley-, is also the source of English "lean", so the word is distantly related to the ordinary act of leaning over. Latin "inclīnō" meant to tilt or bend something toward a point, and the physical sense of a slant comes straight from that. The word reached English through Old French "encliner", later "incliner", and entered Middle English as "enclinen", with the spelling changed later to match its Latin model. The sense of a gentle or steep slope, such as a hill or a ramp, is the older physical meaning, and it was used long before the figurative one. The figurative sense, a leaning of the mind or will toward a particular view or course of action, grows naturally from that physical picture. To be inclined to something is, literally, to be tipped toward it. The verb "incline" carries both senses, the ground that slopes and the person who leans toward a decision.

Synonyms: lean, tilt, slope, bend, slant

Antonyms: straighten, level, align, upright, vertical