LEANING

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does leaning mean? 

• LEANING (noun)
  The noun LEANING has 4 senses:

1. an inclination to do something

2. a natural inclination

3. the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the vertical

4. the act of deviating from a vertical position

  Familiarity information: LEANING used as a noun is uncommon.

• LEANING (adjective)
  The adjective LEANING has 1 sense:

1. departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal

  Familiarity information: LEANING used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LEANING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An inclination to do something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

leaning; propensity; tendency

Context example:

he felt leanings toward frivolity

Hypernyms ("leaning" is a kind of...):

inclination (that toward which you are inclined to feel a liking)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A natural inclination

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

leaning; proclivity; propensity

Context example:

he has a proclivity for exaggeration

Hypernyms ("leaning" is a kind of...):

disposition; inclination; tendency (an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the vertical

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

inclination; lean; leaning; list; tilt

Context example:

he walked with a heavy inclination to the right

Hypernyms ("leaning" is a kind of...):

position; spatial relation (the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The act of deviating from a vertical position

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("leaning" is a kind of...):

act; deed; human action; human activity (something that people do or cause to happen)

• LEANING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal

Synonyms:

atilt; canted; leaning; tilted; tipped

Context example:

the headstones were tilted

Similar:

inclined (at an angle to the horizontal or vertical position)

 Context examples 

Positioned with the patient leaning backward.

(Lordotic Position, NCI Thesaurus)

"Gibberish!" he cried, leaning forward, with his fingers on the table and his face projecting.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Than Agnes,” he repeated, walking slowly to the great chimney-piece, and leaning against it.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I could see the pilot-house and a white-bearded man leaning partly out of it, on his elbows.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Jo put her arm round her and, leaning cheek to cheek, read also, with the quiet expression so seldom seen on her restless face.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I went out and approached him as he stood leaning over the little gate; I spoke to the point at once.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Last night I found her leaning out when I woke up, and when I tried to wake her I could not; she was in a faint.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Leaning on the table, he rapidly turned over the leaves of this volume until he came to the entry which he sought.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“And what do you think of it all, Watson?” asked Sherlock Holmes, leaning back in his chair.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"All right, I'm willin'," Matt agreed, leaning the rifle against the woodpile.

(White Fang, by Jack London)