From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishinclinein‧cline1 /ɪnˈklaɪn/ AWL verb 1 [transitive] formalEFFECT/INFLUENCE if a situation, fact etc inclines you to do or think something, it influences you towards a particular action or opinionincline somebody to do something The accident inclined him to reconsider his career.2 [intransitive] formal to think that a particular belief or opinion is most likely to be correctincline to do something I incline to accept the official version of events.incline to/towards I incline to the opinion that this principle extends to cases of religious discrimination.3 [intransitive, transitive] to slope at a particular angle, or to make something do this The telescope is inclined at an angle of 43 degrees.4 → incline your head→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
incline• Pits in front of the heavy bunker doors, which incline outwards, collect any debris thrown up during an attack.incline somebody to do something• Nothing has happened that would incline us to agree to the proposal.incline to do something• Our day inclines to a complete frankness of self-expression.• He is competent, but, like Tom, inclined to be easygoing.• Looking this way at myself, I am less inclined to brood over whatever blessings may have been withheld.• I was inclined to echo Mary's disgust.• The consequence is likely to be a House less inclined to ideological combat and more given to cranking out compromises with Clinton.• He was aware that the commander-in-chief of his armed forces was more inclined to take orders from his mum than his king.• I incline to trust the Harrises.• If you feel inclined to try them both, be prepared for some wrestling in your system settings.• Incumbents busy raising money for the next election are not inclined to waste energy rehashing the rules of the last campaign.inclinein‧cline2 /ˈɪnklaɪn/ AWL noun [countable] DNTTRa slope a steep inclineExamples from the Corpus
incline• Nor can I take an incline railcar up Schlossberg mountain for a panoramic view.• The tide of red taillights ahead of them ran under an overpass and turned up an incline.• This stretch of approximately three miles includes the whole of the famous 1:29 Golfa incline.• This was an area of sloping fields and the track mounted a gradual incline.• The council houses followed the curve of the road, which wound up a slight incline.• After that I could never see the point of toiling up a steep incline in preference to riding comfortably on a ski-lift!Origin incline1 (1300-1400) French incliner, from Latin clinare “to lean”