Other forms: tendencies
A tendency is a leaning towards doing or becoming a certain thing. A tendency to exaggerate, a worrying tendency, have a tendency.
The construction is a tendency to do something or towards something. It describes a pattern rather than a rule, which is why tendency is the careful word in research writing: there is a tendency for numbers to fall. In politics, a tendency is an organised faction within a party. Note tend, which does the same job as a verb; and tendentious, which is a different word meaning biased towards a point of view.
1nountendencyA leaning towards doing or becoming something.
“She has a tendency to talk too fast when she's nervous.”
tendency is a leaning.
Medieval Latin tendentia comes from tendere, to stretch — the same verb as tend, attention and intend. A tendency is a stretching in one direction, which is exactly what the word describes.
Medieval Latin
tendentia
English, today
tendency
From Medieval Latin tendentia, from tendens, present participle of tendō.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA