penchant

noun

pen·​chant ˈpen-chənt How to pronounce penchant (audio)
especially British ˈpäⁿ-ˌshäⁿ
Synonyms of penchant
: a strong and continued inclination
broadly : liking

Did you know?

English has multiple p-words that imply a strong instinct or liking for something, including propensity and proclivity, but to keep things precise, penchant is the proper word for implying a pronounced, persistent taste in a person ("a penchant for pretty pendants") or a predominant predilection for performing particular actions ("a penchant for petting penguins"). Penchant traces back all the way to the Latin verb pendere, meaning "to weigh," but is more immediately preceded in English by the French word penchant, from the present participle of pencher, meaning "to incline."

Synonyms of penchant

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus
Choose the Right Synonym for penchant

leaning, propensity, proclivity, penchant mean a strong instinct or liking for something.

leaning suggests a liking or attraction not strong enough to be decisive or uncontrollable.

a student with artistic leanings

propensity implies a deeply ingrained and usually irresistible inclination.

a propensity to offer advice

proclivity suggests a strong natural proneness usually to something objectionable or evil.

a proclivity for violence

penchant implies a strongly marked taste in the person or an irresistible attraction in the object.

a penchant for taking risks

Examples of penchant in a Sentence

Aside from the Catholic penchant for fish on Fridays, there is also the tradition of eating red beans and rice on Monday … —Tom Piazza, Why New Orleans Matters, 2005
Whether manifested in feminine decor or in an approach to teaching that assumes a female penchant for cooperative, or "connected," learning, stereotypical notions of femininity often infect institutions for women and girls. —Wendy Kaminer, Atlantic, April 1998
From both her father and mother she had inherited a penchant for art, literature, philosophy, and music. Already at eighteen she was dreaming of painting, singing, writing poetry, writing books, acting—anything and everything. —Theodore Dreiser, The Titan, 1914
a penchant for sitting by the window and staring moodily off into space
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Today, the tiki scene is thriving, a hub for craft cocktails but also a reflection of our city’s penchant for dreaming and escapism. — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026 While Palo Alto's penchant for M & A sometimes draws the market's ire , Arora's track record is rather excellent, including the performance of CyberArk in identity security and Chronosphere in observability. — Kevin Stankiewicz,zev Fima, CNBC, 30 Aug. 2026 With his snug corset and unsubtle make-up and minuscule shorts to which are fastened fishnet stockings, Curry’s kooky scientist with a penchant for brewing male lovers in his lab is one of pop-culture’s unlikely icons. — Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026 Marino also has a penchant for seeing affinities in the work of two artists who paths likely never crossed, as is the case with his two-person exhibition of Parsons and Accardi. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 27 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for penchant

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, noun derivative from present participle of pencher "to lean, slope, be inclined, tend," going back to Old French pengier, going back to Vulgar Latin *pendicāre, from *pendere "to hang" + *-icāre, verb formative — more at pendent entry 1

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of penchant was in 1672

Rhymes for penchant

See All Rhymes for penchant

Browse Nearby Words

penceless
penchant
penché
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Penchant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/penchant. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

penchant

noun
pen·​chant ˈpen-chənt How to pronounce penchant (audio)
: a strong liking
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All