Incline

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aɪn
• verb enPR: Ä­nklÄ«n', IPA: /ɪnˈklaɪn/
• noun enPR: Ä­n'klÄ«n, IPA: /ˈɪn.klaɪn/

Alternative forms

• encline obsolete

Origin

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

Full definition of incline

Verb

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.
• unknown date, 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, w, The Younger Set Chapter 8, “ 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.

Noun

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

Related terms

• climate
• cline
• decline
• recline