(1) ①tendency意为“倾向，趋势”，指以某种方式发展或运动的自然可能性。

• Business is showing a tendency to improve.
  商业有改观的趋势。
• There was a strong upward tendency in oil shares yesterday.
  昨天，石油股票有强劲上扬的势头。

②tendency还可指“癖好，偏好”，指某人在某方面显出特殊的技能或聪明，接介词towards。

• Her tendency had always been towards history, so we were surprised when she failed her examination in it.
  她一直偏爱历史课，当她这门功课没考及格时，我们都很吃惊。

 (2) ①inclination意为“倾向，爱好”，可接不定式，也可接介词to或towards。

• You always follow your own inclinations instead of/without thinking of our feelings.
  你总是随心所欲，而不考虑我们的感受。
• He showed little inclination to go/going to the U.S.A.
  他不是很想去美国。
• I had no inclination towards life as a doctor when I was young.
  我年轻的时候从没想过当医生。

②inclination有时也可与介词for连用。

• I used to have an inclination for volleyball at college.
  上大学时我偏爱排球。

③inclination有时表示一种自然倾向，相当于tendency。

• She has an inclination to get fat.
  她有发胖的趋势。

 (3) bias意为“偏见，癖好，倾向性”，用作“偏见，偏心”解时，常带有贬义。

• Some people have a bias against foreigners.
  有些人对外国人存有偏见。
• That boy is not trustworthy: he has a strong bias towards telling lies.
  那孩子不可靠：他非常喜欢撒谎。
• His bias towards literature showed itself in early childhood.
  幼年时他就表现出了对文学的偏爱。

 (4) leaning指“倾向，偏好”，单复数意思相同，后接towards。

• I have a leaning towards traditional Chinese music.
  我偏好中国传统音乐。
• He is considered to be a reformer with radical leanings.
  人们认为他是一个激进的改革者。
• He has leanings towards crime.
  他有犯罪倾向。

 (5) propensity意为“倾向，习性，嗜好”，指心理或性格上的倾向或习惯，常用于不好的方面，后接to, towards，不定式或for doing sth.。

• Don't believe him, he has a propensity to exaggerate.
  不要相信他，他爱夸大其词。
• Don't tease that dog: it has biting propensities .
  别逗那狗，它好咬人。
• That he has a propensity for complaining tells against him in his career.
  他爱抱怨的习惯对他的事业不利。
• A propensity to spend money as soon as you get it won't help you to become rich.
  钱一到手就花掉的习惯不会帮助你致富。

 (6) ①bent意为“对……的爱好或倾向”，后接介词for。

• He has a bent for working with machines.
  他生性爱跟机器打交道。
• No wonder he has always failed in the exams in the subject, he doesn't have a bent for it.
  他不喜欢这门课，难怪他老不及格。

②follow one's own bent指“行其所长，从其所好”。

• He is now a doctor, but if he had followed his own bent , he would have been a writer.
  他现在是名医生，但是如果他遵循自己的爱好，早就是一位作家了。

 (7) disposition除表示“布置，处理(权)”外，也可作“性格，性情，倾向”解。

• She has a very cheerful disposition .
  她生性活泼。
• There was a general disposition to leave early.(We all felt a disposition to leave early.)
  大家都想早点离开。
• She has a disposition to jealousy/that disease.
  她爱嫉妒／生病。