{
    "term": "tendency",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "if somebody/something has a particular tendency, they are likely to behave or act in a particular way",
            "sensetop": "tendency to do somethingtendency for somebody/something to do somethingtendency to/towards something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "to **display** artistic **tendencies**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I **have a tendency** to talk too much when I'm nervous.",
                    "contextForm": "tendency to do something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "This material has a tendency to shrink when washed."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There is a tendency for this disease to run in families.",
                    "contextForm": "tendency for somebody/something to do something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She has a strong natural tendency towards caution.",
                    "contextForm": "tendency to/towards something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The new model has an unfortunate tendency to break after a few weeks' use."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They needed help for self-harm and suicidal tendencies."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a worrying tendency to blame victims for being assaulted"
                },
                {
                    "text": "our natural human tendency to group all the things we don't like together"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The natural tendency is to try harder when there are problems with a project."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We have a tendency to blame ourselves when things go wrong."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The training courses aim to reduce the tendency for young people to leave the industry."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They have a tendency towards over-optimism."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["clear", "great", "marked"],
                "verb + tendency": ["have", "display", "exhibit"],
                "preposition": [
                    "tendency among",
                    "tendency for",
                    "tendency on the part of"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "a new custom that is starting to develop",
            "sensetop": "tendency (for somebody/something) (to do something)tendency to/towards something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "There's a growing tendency for women to marry later.",
                    "contextForm": "tendency (for somebody/something) (to do something)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Industry showed a tendency towards increasingly centralized administration.",
                    "contextForm": "tendency to/towards something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "There is a growing tendency among employers to hire casual staff."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There is a tendency for farm sizes to increase."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["clear", "great", "marked"],
                "verb + tendency": ["have", "display", "exhibit"],
                "preposition": [
                    "tendency among",
                    "tendency for",
                    "tendency on the part of"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "a group within a larger political group, whose views are more extreme than those of the rest of the group",
            "labels": "(British English)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a growing separatist tendency within the Anglo-Irish community"
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈtendənsi/",
                "audio": "te/tendency/tendency__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈtendənsi/",
                "audio": "te/tendency/tendency__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "early 17th cent.: from medieval Latin tendentia, from tendere ‘to stretch’."
}