incliner
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in·cline
(ĭn-klīn′)v. in·clined, in·clin·ing, in·clines
v.tr.
1. To cause (someone) to have a certain tendency: dispose: "His active, daring temperament little inclined him to patient, quiet study" (Harriet Beecher Stowe).
2. To dispose (someone) to have a certain preference or opinion or to take a course of action: I'm inclined to agree with you. Are you inclined to go to out tonight?
3. To cause to lean, slant, or slope: "Galileo ... inclined the plane and rolled brass balls down it" (George Johnson). See Synonyms at slant.
4. To bend or lower in a nod or bow: I inclined my head in acquiescence.
v.intr.
1. To be disposed to a certain preference, opinion, or course of action: Some researchers incline toward a different view of the problem.
2. To deviate from the horizontal or vertical; slant: When the path inclined steeply, it became difficult to continue hiking.
3. To lower or bend the head or body, as in a nod or bow.
n. (ĭn′klīn′)
An inclined surface; a slope or gradient: The car rolled down the incline.
[Middle English enclinen, from Old French encliner, from Latin inclīnāre : in-, into, toward; see in-2 + -clīnāre, to lean; see klei- in Indo-European roots.]
in·clin′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.