incline

See also incliné

English

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• encline (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old French encliner (modern incliner), from Latin inclīnō (“incline, tilt”), from in- + clīnō (c.f. -cline), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (English lean).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aɪn

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• (verb) enPR: ĭnklīn', IPA: /ɪnˈklaɪn/, X-SAMPA: /In"klaIn/
• (noun) enPR: ĭn'klīn, IPA: /ˈɪn.klaɪn/, X-SAMPA: /"InklaIn/

Verb

incline (third-person singular simple present inclines, present participle inclining, simple past and past participle inclined)

1. (transitive) To bend or move (something) out of a given plane or direction, often the horizontal or vertical.
   • He had to incline his body against the gusts to avoid being blown down in the storm.
   • The people following the coffin inclined their heads in grief.
2. (intransitive) To slope.
   • Over the centuries the wind made the walls of the farmhouse incline.
3. To tend to do or believe something, or move or be moved in a certain direction, away from a point of view, attitude, etc.
   • ?, J. M. G. van der Poel, "Agriculture in Pre- and Protohistoric Times", in the Acta Historiae Neerlandica published by the Netherlands Committee of Historical Sciences, page 170:

     The terp farmer made use of the plough, as is shown by the discovery of three ploughshares and four coulters. […] Those who inclined to the stock-breeding theory based their arguments on the absence of ploughs, […]

   • He inclines to believe anything he reads in the newspapers.
   • I'm inclined to give up smoking after hearing of the risks to my health.
   • 1907, Robert Chambers, chapter 8, The Younger Set^[1]:

     “ My tastes,” he said, still smiling, “ incline me to the garishly sunlit side of this planet.” And, to tease her and arouse her to combat : “ I prefer a farandole to a nocturne ; I'd rather have a painting than an etching ; … ”

   • Usage note: In this sense incline is usually used in the passive voice, and usually intransitively.

Translations

bend (something) out of a given plane or direction

• Catalan: inclinar (ca)
• Czech: sklopit, ohnout, naklonit (cs)
• German: neigen (de)
• Latgalian: līkt

• Latvian: liekt (lv)
• Quechua: chinruykachiy (qu)
• Romanian: apleca (ro)
• Telugu: వాలుట (te) (valuta)

slope

• German: neigen (de)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: هه‌وراز

• Telugu: ఏటవాలు (te) (etavalu)

to tend to do or believe something

• Catalan: inclinar (ca)
• Czech: tíhnout (cs), přiklánět se (cs)
• Dutch: neigen (nl)

• German: neigen (de)
• Telugu: అంగీకరించుట (te) (amgikarimcuta)

Noun

incline (plural inclines)

1. A slope.
   • To reach the building, we had to climb a steep incline.

Translations

slope

• Czech: sráz (cs) m, svah (cs) m
• Greek: κεκλιμένο επίπεδο (el) (kekliméno epípedo) n

• Hungarian: lejtő (hu)
• Telugu: ఏటవాలు (te) (etavalu)

Related terms

• climate
• cline
• decline
• recline

External links

• incline in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• incline in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• incline at OneLook Dictionary Search

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French

Verb

incline

1. first-person singular present indicative of incliner
2. third-person singular present indicative of incliner
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of incliner
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of incliner
5. second-person singular imperative of incliner

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Galician

Verb

incline

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of inclinar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of inclinar

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Italian

Adjective

incline m and f (m and f plural inclini)

1. inclined, prone

Synonyms

• facile, propenso

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Spanish

Verb

incline (infinitive inclinar)

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of inclinar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of inclinar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of inclinar.