slant

slant vb Slant, slope, incline, lean are comparable when they mean to diverge or cause to diverge from a vertical or horizontal line.

Slant carries the sharpest and clearest implication of such divergence of any of these terms but it carries no explicit implication of how great or how little the divergence is; consequently it is accepted generally as the comprehensive term implying a noticeable physical divergence

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the Tibetans are of Mongol race, but their eyes slant less than those of the Japanese or Chinese— Harrer

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lines of gray, plunging tropic rain slanted across the whole world— Beebe

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one side of his body seemed to slant towards the other, he settled so much more heavily upon one foot— M. E. Freeman

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Slope is often used interchangeably with slant, but it is especially likely to be chosen when the reference is to a surface or a side of an elevation (as a hill or a roof) and there is an intent to suggest a gradual divergence from a vertical or horizontal line; thus, "the ground slopes to the left" usually suggests a lack of steepness; "a sloping roof," unless qualified by such adverbs as sharply or steeply, usually implies a gradual slant

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the road slopes downward from this point

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enjoyed their wide sloping lawns with the sprinklers idly turning— Auchincloss

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wooded valleys and rolling hills slope away to the horizon— Amer. Guide Series: Pa.

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Incline (see also INCLINE 2) carries a stronger implication of bending or tipping or of being bent or tipped; it is therefore especially appropriate not only when human or similar agency is implied but when what is bent or tipped is an immaterial thing (as one's will, one's thoughts, or one's intentions)

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just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined— Pope

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inclined his head to the right

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the garden terraces incline to the south

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there is another theory to which the late Professor Freeman inclined (if so sturdy a figure could be said to incline)—Quiller-Couch

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Lean differs from incline in carrying either a stronger implication of a definite directing of the inclination by a human agent or by some shaping or molding force

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the old man leaned the mast . . . against the wall— Hemingway

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olive trees leaning from the hillsides, twisted by the sun— Davenport

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without looking up at him she leaned towards him— Marsh

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or of a resting or an intent to rest either literally or figuratively against a support

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both items lean heavily on nostalgia, both bring happy memories of an era unfortunately ended— Cerf

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the others treated me gingerly, fearing to be classed as Bolsheviks by association. Naturally, I leaned toward those who leaned towards me— Dent

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Analogous words: veer, *swerve, deviate, diverge

slant n *point of view, viewpoint, standpoint, angle

Analogous words: attitude, *position, stand: bias, prejudice, *predilection