force of habit
4
3.5
- noun
:
por costumbre
- Driving to work at the same time every day had become a force of habit for him, even on weekends.
- Sorry, force of habit
- Force of habit, I guess
- just force of habit
I did that for several years after I left the agency, just out of force of habit, just to make sure I'm not being followed.
- I did that for several years after I left the agency, just out of force of habit, just to make sure I'm not being followed.
Examples
-
By force of habit, I walked up the parade route, counter to the direction of the participants, until I reached the point where the bands convened to begin their march.
Academic text (2001) -
It's a force of habit.
-
It's really just force of habit.
-
Just force of habit for a woman like you.
-
I did that for several years after I left the agency, just out of force of habit, just to make sure I'm not being followed.
-
He bought two tickets out of force of habit.
Fiction book (1995) -
As they left the jail, Moses, by force of habit, handed Belle a red umbrella.
Fiction book (1990) -
After years of going to the gym every morning, attending the classes became a force of habit for him.
-
She always packed her lunch for work; it was just a force of habit developed over many years.
Synonyms
630
1.0
A regular action you do often without thinking
15
3.5
A habit or skill that feels automatic after a lot of practice
Doing a task without thinking after much practice
Antonyms
How Habitual
2
3.4
- Informal
15
3.5
4
3.5
630
1.0
285
2.8
8
5.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'force' as an influence or power combined with 'habit' (a repeated behavior) yields the idea of actions driven by habit. This compositional pattern (similar to 'out of habit' or equivalents in other languages) is predictable and should be understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Force of habit paints a simple picture: the habit is like a strong push or force that makes you do something the same way again and again. So, it means 'doing something without thinking' because you have done it many times before.