proclive

English

Etymology

From Latin prōclīvis (“sloping, inclined”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɹəʊklɪv/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

proclive (comparative more proclive, superlative most proclive)

1. (archaic) Having a tendency by nature; prone

   Synonym: proclivous

   • 1856, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Third Book”, in Aurora Leigh, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1857, →OCLC:

     Eterne, intense, profuse,—still throwing up
     The golden spray of multitudinous worlds
     In measure to the proclive weight and rush
     Of His inner nature […]

References

• “proclive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin prōclīvis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /proˈkli.ve/
• Rhymes: -ive
• Hyphenation: pro‧clì‧ve

Adjective

proclive m or f by sense (plural proclivi)

1. (literary) prone

Derived terms

• proclività

Further reading

• proclive in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Adjective

prōclīve

1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of prōclīvis

References

• “proclive”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “proclive”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin prōclīvis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɾoˈklibe/ [pɾoˈkli.β̞e]
• Rhymes: -ibe
• Syllabification: pro‧cli‧ve

Adjective

proclive m or f (masculine and feminine plural proclives)

1. [with a ‘something’] inclined, prone

   Synonyms: inclinado, predispuesto, propenso

   • 2022 July 24, Manuel Jabois, quoting Blanca Andreu, “Blanca Andreu, la poeta que triunfó a los 20 años y prefirió desaparecer: “Me halaga que me crean muerta””, in El País‎^[1]:

     Porque una vida tan solitaria no es una vida muy proclive a hacer cosas por los demás.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Related terms

• proclividad

Further reading

• “proclive”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025