[n] a characteristic likelihood of or natural disposition toward a certain condition or character or effect; "the alkaline inclination of the local waters"; "fabric with a tendency to shrink"
[n] an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others; "he had an inclination to give up too easily"; "a tendency to be too strict"
[n] an inclination to do something; "he felt leanings toward frivolity"
[n] a general direction in which something tends to move; "the shoreward tendency of the current"; "the trend of the stock market"