Drift
Drift noun - A prevailing or general movement or inclination.
Usage example: the steady drift of the population away from large cities
Tendency is a synonym for drift in meaning topic. In some cases you can use "Tendency" instead a noun "Drift", when it comes to topics like inclination, trend, direction of fall, implication. popular alternative
Tendency
Tendency noun - A prevailing or general movement or inclination.
Usage example: we'll be seeing a tendency for skirt lengths to get shorter this coming season
Mutual synonyms
How words are described
Both words in one sentence
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Getting out of bed is a massive struggle for him, and even when he's finally up and moving he's slow and sluggish, with a tendency to drift right back to sleep as soon as he comes to a stop.
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The Negative Hollows Perona used later in the same arc also had a tendency to drift ponderously out of walls.
Source: Wall Master - Doctor Who: The Doctor has a tendency to drift in and out of this trope, possibly more so in his third incarnation.
Source: Too Clever by Half
Cite this Source
Tendency and Drift. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/drift/tendency
Drift & Tendency. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/drift/tendency>.
Tendency or Drift. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/drift/tendency.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "drift" and "tendency" have occurred on timeline