as in preferring
to show partiality toward
I'm leaning toward sausage on our pizza tonight—we got pepperoni the last three times
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leaning (toward or towards)
Verb
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As The Athletic detailed at the start of the month, Everton did not expect to be busy in the January window, preferring where possible to keep their powder dry until the summer.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026 -
But Dobrez has no plans to stream his documentary, preferring that screenings remain community events.—
Jim Dudlicek,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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To top things off, it’s almost been a month since our conversation about the guy liking me.—
Eric Thomas,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Feb. 2026
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The answer is, not very, although at least liking lesbians enough to laugh with and not at their culture surely counts as a prerequisite.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Though series results aren’t generally an indicator of how the two global powers fare once a gold medal is on the line, the results raised eyebrows over a potential shift in power favoring the Americans.—
John Wawrow,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Feb. 2026
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Recent studies have raised concerns about officiating consistency favoring certain teams.—
Jason Corso,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In the middle of it all, songwriter Diane Warren paused to take a selfie, still evidently enjoying the giddy thrill of being in a room full of fellow hopefuls even after 17 times.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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Although quantifying morale and momentum is hard, by the end of 2025, the Democrats were enjoying an upturn in both.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Leaning (toward or towards).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leaning%20%28toward%20or%20towards%29. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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