penchant

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pen·chant

(pĕn′chənt)

A definite liking; a strong inclination. See Synonyms at predilection.

[French, from present participle of pencher, to incline, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *pendicāre, from Latin pendēre, to hang; see (s)pen- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

penchant

(ˈpɒŋʃɒŋ)

a strong inclination or liking; bent or taste

[C17: from French, from pencher to incline, from Latin pendēre to be suspended]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pen•chant

(ˈpɛn tʃənt; (esp. Brit.) Fr. pɑ̃ˈʃɑ̃)

n.

a strong inclination, taste, or liking for something.

[1665–75; < French, n. use of present participle of pencher to incline, lean < Vulgar Latin *pendicāre, derivative of Latin pendēre to hang]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

penchant - a strong liking; "my own preference is for good literature"; "the Irish have a penchant for blarney"

preference, taste, predilection

liking - a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment; "I've always had a liking for reading"; "she developed a liking for gin"

acquired taste - a preference that is only acquired after considerable experience; "martinis are an acquired taste"

weakness - a penchant for something even though it might not be good for you; "he has a weakness for chocolate"

penchant

noun liking, taste, tendency, turn, leaning, bent, bias, inclination, affinity, disposition, fondness, propensity, predisposition, predilection, proclivity, partiality, proneness He had a penchant for playing jokes on people.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

penchant

noun

An inclination to something:

bent, bias, cast, disposition, leaning, partiality, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, proneness, propensity, squint, tendency, trend, turn.

Translations

penchant

[ˌpɑ̃ːŋʃɑ̃ːŋ] N → predilección f (for por) → inclinación f (for hacia, por) to have a penchant for → tener predilección por

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

penchant

[ˈpɒŋʃɒŋ] n → penchant m
to have a penchant for sth → avoir un penchant pour qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

penchant

n → Schwäche f → (for für), Vorliebe f → (for für)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

penchant

[ˈpɒŋʃɒŋ] n (frm) → debole m, penchant m inv

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

References in classic literature ?

They were going from end to end of the country in all manner of useful missionary capacities; their penchant for wandering, and their experience in it, made them altogether the most effective spreaders of civilization we had.

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Apparently Mademoiselle Violet combined a taste for philanthropy with her penchant for Islington dancing halls.

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I remember, somewhere, sitting in a circle with Japanese fishermen, Kanaka boat-steerers from our own vessels, and a young Danish sailor fresh from cowboying in the Argentine and with a penchant for native customs and ceremonials.

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"But if I have a penchant, Monsieur Bon-Bon - if I have a penchant, it is for a philosopher.

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He ran across a book in the library on the care of the body, and promptly developed a penchant for a cold-water bath every morning, much to the amazement of Jim, and to the bewilderment of Mr.

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Wickson exercised tremendous social power in the university town, and from them emanated the sentiment that I was a too-forward and self-assertive young woman with a mischievous penchant for officiousness and interference in other persons' affairs.

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With a turn for literary expression myself, and a penchant for forcible figures and phrases, I appreciated, as no other listener, I dare say, the peculiar vividness and strength and absolute blasphemy of his metaphors.

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"Little friend," said he, in quite a changed tone--while his face changed too, losing all its softness and gravity, and becoming harsh and sarcastic--"you have noticed my tender penchant for Miss Ingram: don't you think if I married her she would regenerate me with a vengeance?"

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Streb has put aside her penchant for hitting the ceiling and splattering the walls.

Elizabeth Streb/Ringside

But this definition is more a reflection of the Kennedy penchant for style than a useful description of the virtue.

Kennedy, Caroline, ed. Profiles in courage for our time

The title's reuse reflects the artist's ability to breathe new life into castoffs, and the phrase itself notes his penchant for soapbox-derby technology and lemonade-stand production budgets.

Patrick Nickell

"I rarely get asked to participate in these things," she comments wryly, referring to cable networks' penchant for whitewashed puff pieces with titles containing phrases like "ultimate movie star."

Joan Crawford, unvarnished: Christina Crawford talks about TCM's new documentary on Joan Crawford, which doesn't sidestep the diva's dark side. (television)

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