leaned (toward or towards)

verb

past tense of lean (toward or towards)
as in preferred
to show partiality toward I'm leaning toward sausage on our pizza tonight—we got pepperoni the last three times

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for leaned (toward or towards)
  1. preferred
  2. liked
  3. enjoyed
  4. favored
Verb
  • Some spellings of his name appear as Armes, an adjustment to the Finnish spelling Armas preferred by his family.
    — Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan preferred to raise the target range by a quarter-point.
    — Rachel Barber, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of preferred
Verb
  • Carl never much liked recording sessions but did offer input.
    — Martha Ackmann, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • There may not be a player in the league who is this good, this young and this universally liked.
    — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of liked
Verb
  • For hundreds of thousands of years, our species has enjoyed the warmth and protection of a good fire before bedtime.
    — Mike McRae September 02, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
  • During their weeks-long hiatus, Navarro enjoyed vacationing with loved ones, while Goldberg shared clips of her attending art shows across Europe.
    — Kalia Richardson, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of enjoyed
Verb
  • It was not favored by critics, although Scream fans remain somewhat loyal.
    — Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Talarico has favored higher taxes on wealthier households and the two ads seek to portray him as seeking tax hikes more broadly while claiming that Paxton would give tax breaks to first-time homebuyers and families with children.
    — Josh Boak, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of favored
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

leaned (on or against)
leaned (toward or towards)
leaning
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Leaned (toward or towards).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leaned%20%28toward%20or%20towards%29. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gist

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All