ともすれば～・ともすると～: " a tendency to ~, prone to ~" or "cause and effect"?


> 頭の中は恥辱と奇妙な解放感に混乱した。ともすると恥辱と刺激だけが意識を占めてしまいそうになる。
>
> 彼の掌から甘い痺れが沁みこんで来て、ともすれば腰が抜けそうになる。
>
> 呼吸を整えることで、ともすれば崩れそうになる自尊心を平静に保とうとした。

Regarding these examples, it seems "as a result," is more appropriate than "a
tendency to ~, prone to ~" for the uses of ともすれば・ともすると. The clauses after
ともすれば・ともすると feel much more like a outcome due to the actions in the first
clause than a long held habit.

even with 大辞林 I still only get どうかすると。ややもすると。ともすれば as definitions.




ともすれば is an adverb that adds the nuance of "possibly", "if things go bad", "if
we're unlucky", "depending on the situation", etc. I don't know where you saw
"as a result", but that's not what this adverb is saying. どうかすれば, どうかすると,
ともすると, ややもすれば, and ややもすると are all synonyms. どうかすれば ("if things turn out in a
certain way", "if something happens") may be the most intuitive form to grasp
the nuance. If ともすれば is used with a habitual action, "to prone/tend to" would
be an appropriate option. In your examples, ともすれば is effectively weakening the
meaning of そうになる (i.e., 腰が抜ける is only an unlucky possibility).




ともすれば is an adverb that adds the nuance of "possibly", "if things go bad", "if
we're unlucky", "depending on the situation", etc. I don't know where you saw
"as a result", but that's not what this adverb is saying. どうかすれば, どうかすると,
ともすると, ややもすれば, and ややもすると are all synonyms. どうかすれば ("if things turn out in a
certain way", "if something happens") may be the most intuitive form to grasp
the nuance. If ともすれば is used with a habitual action, "to prone/tend to" would
be an appropriate option. In your examples, ともすれば is effectively weakening the
meaning of そうになる (i.e., 腰が抜ける is only an unlucky possibility).

