propensity

• This propensity was a love of sport, especially if indulged secretly, unlawfully, and at the expense of somebody else; in a word, they were arrant poachers, the man in fact, the boy at heart. —  Dr. Jolliffe's Boys
• The demonstration I shall give will only be a repetition of the preceding one, for the problems are one and the same Men have a natural propensity to make the best bargain they can, when not prevented by an opposing force; that is, they like to obtain as much as they possibly can for their labour, whether the advantage is obtained from a foreign producer or a skilful mechanical producer The theoretical objection which is made to this propensity is the same in both cases. —  Essays on Political Economy
• For what other means can exist for arresting a propensity which is natural to all men, but that of depriving them of their liberty In many countries, it is true, the legislator strikes at only one of these competitions, and confines himself to grumbling at the other. —  Essays on Political Economy
• This propensity is as subservient to the advancement of private interests in the one as in the other, and those who direct them both, being principally guided by the same views and influenced by the same motives, will be equally ready to stimulate extravagance of enterprise by improvidence of credit. —  A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents Volume 3, part 2: Martin Van Buren
• Partisans of realism tell us that this propensity is a weakness, a fault; and such it is, beyond question, whenever it leads to forced and stagy contrasts. —  The Life and Works of Friedrich Schiller

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the Same Context