incline
verb /ɪnˈklaɪn/
/ɪnˈklaɪn/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they incline | /ɪnˈklaɪn/ /ɪnˈklaɪn/ |
| he / she / it inclines | /ɪnˈklaɪnz/ /ɪnˈklaɪnz/ |
| past simple inclined | /ɪnˈklaɪnd/ /ɪnˈklaɪnd/ |
| past participle inclined | /ɪnˈklaɪnd/ /ɪnˈklaɪnd/ |
| -ing form inclining | /ɪnˈklaɪnɪŋ/ /ɪnˈklaɪnɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to tend to think or behave in a particular way; to make somebody do this
- incline to/towards something I incline to the view that we should take no action at this stage.
- Young people incline towards individualistic behaviour.
- incline to do something The government is more effective than we incline to think.
- incline somebody to/towards something Lack of money inclines many young people towards crime.
- incline somebody to do something His obvious sincerity inclined me to trust him.
- [transitive] incline your head to bend your head forward, especially as a sign of agreement, welcome, etc.
- He inclined his head in acknowledgement.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- slightly
- [intransitive, transitive] incline (something) (to/towards something) to lean or slope in a particular direction; to make something lean or slope
- The land inclined gently towards the shore.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- gently
- steeply
- towards/toward
Word OriginMiddle English (originally in the sense ‘bend (the head or body) towards something’); formerly also as encline: from Old French encliner, from Latin inclinare, from in- ‘towards’ + clinare ‘to bend’.