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predilection

UK/ˌpɹiː.dəˈlɛk.ʃn̩/US/ˌpɹɛ.dəˈlɛk.ʃn̩/
nounC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,358 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: predilections

A predilection is a settled preference for a particular thing. A predilection for jazz, his predilection for detail, a curious predilection.

It always takes for and is faintly formal, often with an amused note about somebody's tastes. It is stronger than a liking and weaker than a passion.

Definitions of predilection

  1. 1nounpredilectionA settled preference for a particular thing.C2

    “She has a predilection for old detective novels.”

predilection is a preference.

Where it comes from

  1. Medieval Latin

    praedīlēctiō

  2. English, today

    predilection

Borrowed from Medieval Latin praedīlēctiō.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

predilection in the wild

  • Potted shrimps was a favourite dish of Ian Fleming, who passed on his predilection to his fictional creation James Bond.

    Potted shrimps

  • There is a slight predilection for the lower limb affection, namely the foot.

    Macrodystrophia lipomatosa

  • The film stars Clara Bow as a counter girl at a San Diego drugstore with a predilection for sailors.

    True to the Navy

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.