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The tendency to give undue importance to material interests; devotion to the material nature and its wants.

The doctrine that there is a tendency throughout nature toward improvement. J. Sully.

To cause to have a wrong inclination or tendency; to affect wrongly.

Tendency, or measure of tendency, to produce motion, esp. motion about a fixed point or axis. Moment of a couple (Mech.), the product of either of its forces into the perpendicular distance between them. -- Moment of a force. (Mech.) (a) With respect to a point, the product of the intensity of the force into the perpe…

Direction of movement; course; tendency; as, the motion of the planets is from west to east. In our proper motion we ascend. Milton.

ral agencies or laws, to the exclusion of the supernatural. Infected by this naturalizing tendency. H. Bushnell.

Endeavor; rffort; tendency. [R.] Boyle.

Doing hurt, or having a tendency to hurt; hurtful; mischievous; noxious; as, nocent qualities. I. Watts.

A tendency in the end of a magnetic needle to point to the north. Faraday.

The tendency of certain plant organs, as leaves, to assume special "sleeping" positions or make curvatures under the influence of darkness. It is well illustrated in the leaflets of clover and other leguminous plants.

The tendency of a revolving body, when suspended in a certain way, to bring the axis of rotation into parallelism with the earth's axis.

The tendency in fluids to mix, or become equably diffused, when in contact. It was first observed between fluids of differing densities, and as taking place through a membrane or an intervening porous structure. The more rapid flow from the thinner to the thicker fluid was then called endosmose, and the opposite, slowe…

Having the same direction or tendency; running side by side; being in accordance (with); tending to the same result; -- used with to and with. When honor runs parallel with the laws of God and our country, it can not be too much cherished. Addison.

The tendency of a body to remain in a given state, either of motion or rest, till disturbed by another body; inertia. Cheyne.

The quality of being perplexing; tendency to perplex. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

of low organisms, as various infusorians, the zoöspores of certain algæ, etc.; also, the tendency to follow definite directions of motion or assume definite positions under such influence. If the migration is toward the source of light, it is termed positive phototaxis; if away from the light, negative phototaxis. --P…

The tendency of growing plant organs to move or curve under the influence of light. In ordinary use the term is practically synonymous with heliotropism.

The tendency of the mind toward, or its preoccupation with, physical phenomena; materialism in philosophy and religion. Anthropomorphism grows into theology, while physicism (if I may so call it) develops into science. Huxley.

l in the exercise of his rights when such exercise becomes a danger to the community. The tendency of judicial and popular usage is towards this narrower definition.

painters, or of these groups taken collectively, whose work and theories have in common a tendency to reaction against the scientific and naturalistic character of impressionism and neo- impressionism. In a strict sense the term post-impressionism is used to denote the effort at self-expression, rather than representat…