The term 'leaning toward' can be described by the crossword solutions of 'INCLINED, ' 'TENDING, ' 'favoring, ' and 'likelyto, ' all of which have 8 letters. INCLINED means to be tilted or slanted in a particular direction, while TENDING implies a gradual movement in a certain direction. Favoring suggests a preference for something, and likelyto implies a probability of something happening. All of these words together suggest that someone is leaning toward a certain outcome or decision.