The noun tendency has 4 senses (first 3 from tagged texts)
1. (11) inclination, disposition, tendency -- (an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others; "he had an inclination to give up too easily"; "a tendency to be too strict")
2. (6) leaning, propensity, tendency -- (an inclination to do something; "he felt leanings toward frivolity")
3. (6) tendency, inclination -- (a characteristic likelihood of or natural disposition toward a certain condition or character or effect; "the alkaline inclination of the local waters"; "fabric with a tendency to shrink")
4. tendency, trend -- (a general direction in which something tends to move; "the shoreward tendency of the current"; "the trend of the stock market")