Propensities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Tendencies or natural inclinations towards certain behaviors or actions can be described as patterns of predisposition in individuals or groups
2. A natural inclination or settled habit can be identified as a consistent likelihood of behaving in a certain way or favoring specific choices
3. Distinct patterns of behavior or predisposition reflect an individual’s or group’s innate tendencies towards certain actions or reactions

Etymology: Before it described human tendencies, "propensity" was a physical image: something hanging forward or leaning toward one side. It comes from Latin "propendere", meaning "to hang forward", built from "pro-" ("forward") and "pendere" ("to hang"). The past participle "propensus" carried the sense of being inclined or tilted toward something, and English took that idea over with the word. The same root sits behind a family of familiar words. "Pendant" and "pendulum" describe things that hang, "suspend" means to hang up, and "depend" once meant to hang down from something, which is why we still say one matter depends on another. A propensity is, in that sense, a weight hanging toward one side of a balance. "Propensities" is simply the plural, used when several such inclinations are described together.

Synonyms: tendencies, inclinations, predispositions, leanings, proclivities

Antonyms: aversion, disinclination, indifference, repulsion, unwillingness