as in bowing
bending downward or forward
the inclining branches of the evergreens seemed almost ready to break under the weight of the heavy snow
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in tilting
to set or cause to be at an angle
carefully inclined the ladder against the house
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in leaning
to show a liking or proneness (for something)
a good restaurant for diners who incline to spicy food
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inclining
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
The trim and inclining experiment is to confirm the centre of gravity of the submarine and is measured by naval architects in both surfaced and submerged conditions.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inclining
Verb
-
Inside the administration, the balance of power appears to be tilting away from the noninterventionists and toward the hawks — at least, for now.—
Matt K. Lewis,
Mercury News,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The court’s four liberal justices at the time joined him over the other conservative justices’ dissents; Trump has since appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett to replace former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, tilting the court further in conservatives’ favor.—
Zach Schonfeld,
The Hill,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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My nephew chose to go to community college for his freshman year, and seems to be leaning toward not continuing in college.—
Liz Weston,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Feb. 2026
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New York's 12th Congressional District is a wealthy, Democratic-leaning area, made up of Manhattan's Midtown, Upper East Side, and Upper West Side.—
Jared Ochacher,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
James O’Donoghue, a planetary scientist with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, likened our planet’s tilting phenomenon to a nodding head.—
Aylin Woodward,
WSJ,
21 Dec. 2021
Verb
-
The cars were situated on a little plateau, almost a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by downward sloping terrain.—
Scott Eden,
Rolling Stone,
1 Feb. 2026
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The interior dining room, divided into two levels and connected by a slowly sloping ramp, could at first cynical glance register as backdrop.—
Bill Addison,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That could look like doing physical labor at work, schlepping toddlers whose motivation to walk is shaky, or tending a backyard garden come spring.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
11 Feb. 2026
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His prolonged absence was due to his service as a loyal butler tending to the needs of the first family of the United States.—
John Wrory Ficklin,
Time,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The building with its bowed windows and a Queen Ann tower had already been around for nine years before its owner placed a classified ad in a July 1897 issue of The Kansas City Times.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
19 Nov. 2025
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No racist stereotypes, no demeaning facial expressions, no bowed heads, and no broken bodies from the old Hollywood.—
David Faris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
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The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Inclining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inclining. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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