Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

propensity


Listen Later

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 20, 2024 is:

propensity • \pruh-PENN-suh-tee\  • noun

A propensity is a strong natural tendency to do something.

// As a child, she had a strong propensity for mischief.

See the entry >

Examples:

"The work suggests that the propensity for the cleverest AI chatbots to go off the rails isn’t just a quirk that can be papered over with a few simple rules." — WIRED, 1 Aug. 2023

Did you know?

If you’re partial to picking synonyms of propensity, perhaps peruse the letter "p," which predominates for such words, in our pages. Proclivity, preference, penchant, and predilection all share with propensity the principal meaning of "a strong instinct or liking." Propensity comes from Latin prōpensus, a form of prōpendēre, a verb meaning "to incline" or "to hang down" (as pendulous things do). With that in mind, it’s perfectly plausible that leaning and inclination are as good synonyms of propensity as any of those "p"-words.



...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Merriam-Webster's Word of the DayBy Merriam-Webster

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

1,189 ratings


More shows like Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

View all
Speak English with ESLPod.com - Learn English Fast by ESLPod.com

Speak English with ESLPod.com - Learn English Fast

2,551 Listeners

TED Talks Daily by TED

TED Talks Daily

11,256 Listeners

Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by QuickAndDirtyTips.com

Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

2,822 Listeners

Science Quickly by Scientific American

Science Quickly

1,361 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,065 Listeners

Learn English | EnglishClass101.com by EnglishClass101.com

Learn English | EnglishClass101.com

860 Listeners

RealLife English: Learn and Speak Confident, Natural English by RealLife English

RealLife English: Learn and Speak Confident, Natural English

507 Listeners

All Ears English Podcast by Lindsay McMahon and Michelle Kaplan

All Ears English Podcast

2,304 Listeners

Daily Easy English Expression Podcast by Coach Shane

Daily Easy English Expression Podcast

845 Listeners

IELTS Energy English 7+ by Lindsay McMahon, Jessica Beck, Aubrey Carter

IELTS Energy English 7+

430 Listeners

Real English Conversations Podcast - Learn to Speak & Understand Real English with Confidence! by Real English Conversations: Amy Whitney & Curtis Davies - English Podcast

Real English Conversations Podcast - Learn to Speak & Understand Real English with Confidence!

397 Listeners

Speak English Now Podcast: Learn English | Speak English without grammar. by Georgiana, founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com

Speak English Now Podcast: Learn English | Speak English without grammar.

589 Listeners

American English Podcast by Shana Thompson

American English Podcast

578 Listeners

Confident Business English by Anna Connelly

Confident Business English

135 Listeners

Business English from All Ears English by Lindsay McMahon

Business English from All Ears English

81 Listeners