Synonym Chooser

How does the noun predilection contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of predilection are bias, prejudice, and prepossession. While all these words mean "an attitude of mind that predisposes one to favor something," predilection implies a strong liking deriving from one's temperament or experience.

a predilection for travel

When could bias be used to replace predilection?

Although the words bias and predilection have much in common, bias implies an unreasoned and unfair distortion of judgment in favor of or against a person or thing.

a strong bias toward the plaintiff

When is it sensible to use prejudice instead of predilection?

The words prejudice and predilection can be used in similar contexts, but prejudice usually implies an unfavorable prepossession and connotes a feeling rooted in suspicion, fear, or intolerance.

a mindless prejudice against the unfamiliar

When can prepossession be used instead of predilection?

While the synonyms prepossession and predilection are close in meaning, prepossession suggests a fixed conception likely to preclude objective judgment of anything counter to it.

a prepossession against technology

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of predilection Those who grew up watching sports like football and baseball were more likely to fall into a 20th-century sport mindset—with a predilection for sweaty, old-school physical contests. John Cairney, Sportico.com, 27 Feb. 2025 More recently, Anderson has opted for lower-key hairstyles that mirror her current makeup-free predilection, but a special night like the Screen Actors Guild Awards calls for a special break from both yesterday’s and today's norms. Marci Robin, Allure, 24 Feb. 2025 This is a role without precedent, for which judges are poorly equipped and apt to fall back on their ideological predilections. The Editors, National Review, 5 Dec. 2024 Ardently following Trump can mean caring, suddenly, about all his particular predilections and mounting a fight against the enemy wherever possible — in product boycotts or on street corners, on social media or in NASCAR chants, in school board meetings or at election sites. Ross Barkan, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for predilection
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predilection
Noun
  • Understanding Home Bias As mentioned before, home bias is the tendency to over-invest in your home country.
    Cicely Jones, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Traveling East might have been an appropriate tendency for early humans living in what is now Europe near the end of the Ice Age.
    Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Stolarz’s inclination to shout instructions at teammates on the ice, often with serious levels of hostility in the name of competition, comes to him naturally.
    Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Tariffs are designed for a combination of reasons, including protecting domestic markets; inviting foreign investment; and becoming more effective using capabilities, inclinations, and talents in other parts of the world.
    Erik Sherman, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • His and Hubbard's distinct approaches underscore the region’s aptitude for versatility.
    Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 24 Mar. 2025
  • According to the archaeologists, the transition from stone to bone was a feat of abstract thinking, requiring an aptitude in toolmaking and an appreciation that the knapping techniques that worked on one material would also work on another.
    Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 5 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The combination of IoT and AI enables connected devices to collect, analyze and act on data in real-time.
    Rahul Saluja, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024
  • Just in time for Christmas, certain members of Congress are hard at work in their policy shops, fashioning a massive lump of cybersecurity coal with which to gift American users of electronic devices.
    David Williams, National Review, 26 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Seaside Park was known for many years as the site of the Gathering of the Vibes festivals, which had an affinity for the sounds and culture of the Grateful Dead.
    Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2025
  • Characterized by: Increasing ability and increasing affinity.
    Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Either way, to compare the outpouring of affection which accompanied his exit to what might happen to Alexander-Arnold when Liverpool wrap up this season at home against Crystal Palace on May 25 is short-sighted.
    Gregg Evans, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
  • In the short clip, the cat is seen gently sniffing and rubbing her snout against her new owner's face, a clear and immediate sign of affection and trust.
    Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Predilection.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predilection. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

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