noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/ˌpɹiː.dəˈlɛk.ʃn̩/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:/ˌpɹɛ.dəˈlɛk.ʃn̩/
rhymes with -ɛkʃən
CMU ARPABET:P R EH2 D AH0 L EH1 K SH AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A condition of favoring or liking; a tendency towards; proclivity; predisposition.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
a predisposition in favor of something
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a predilection for expensive cars
his sexual preferences
showed a Marxist orientation
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: preference, orientation
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: predisposition
3
noun
Meaning 3
a strong liking
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
my own preference is for good literature
the Irish have a penchant for blarney
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: preference, penchant, taste
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: liking
Narrower terms: acquired taste, weakness
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin praedīlēctiō.
Across languages
Translations
37 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
склонност
(sklonnost)
— tendency towards
Bulgarian:
предпочитание
(predpočitanie)
— tendency towards
Catalan:
predilecció
— tendency towards
Chinese Mandarin:
偏愛 /偏爱
(piān'ài)
— tendency towards
Czech:
záliba
— tendency towards
Czech:
slabost
— tendency towards
Czech:
sklony
— tendency towards
Dutch:
neiging
— tendency towards
Dutch:
voorkeur
— tendency towards
Dutch:
voorliefde
— tendency towards
Finnish:
mieltymys
— tendency towards
French:
prédilection
— tendency towards
Galician:
predilección
— tendency towards
Georgian:
მიდრეკილება
(midreḳileba)
— tendency towards
Georgian:
მისწრაფება
(misc̣rapeba)
— tendency towards
German:
Vorliebe
— tendency towards
German:
Neigung
— tendency towards
German:
Faible
— tendency towards
Hindi:
पूर्वाभिरुचि
(pūrvābhiruci)
— tendency towards
Hindi:
खिचाव
(khicāv)
— tendency towards
Hindi:
अनुराग
(anurāg)
— tendency towards
Hungarian:
előszeretet
— tendency towards
Hungarian:
részrehajlás
— tendency towards
Italian:
predilezione
— tendency towards
Latin:
praedīlēctiō
— tendency towards
Norwegian Bokmål:
forkjærlighet
— tendency towards
Plautdietsch:
Läne
— tendency towards
Portuguese:
predileção
— tendency towards
Romanian:
predilecție
— tendency towards
Russian:
скло́нность
(sklónnostʹ)
— tendency towards
Russian:
предрасполо́женность
(predraspolóžennostʹ)
— tendency towards
Sanskrit:
अनुराग
(anurāga)
— tendency towards
Sanskrit:
पूर्वाभिरुचि
(pūrvābhiruci)
— tendency towards
