Beholden definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BEHO'LDEN, pp. or a. beholdn. [The participle of behold, to keep, guard, or bind. See Behold.]
Obliged; bound in gratitude; indebted.
Little are we beholden to your love.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: under a moral obligation to someone

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from past participle of beholden Date: 14th century being under obligation for a favor or gift ; indebted <I'm beholden to you>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

predic.adj. (usu. foll. by to) under obligation. Etymology: past part. (obs. except in this use) of BEHOLD, = bound

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Behold Be*hold", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beheld(p. p. formerly Beholden, now used only as a p. a.); p. pr. & vb. n. Beholding.] [OE. bihalden, biholden, AS. behealdan to hold, have in sight; pref. be- + healdan to hold, keep; akin to G. behalten to hold, keep. See Hold.] To have in sight; to see clearly; to look at; to regard with the eyes. When he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. --Num. xxi. 9. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. --John. i. 29. Syn: To scan; gaze; regard; descry; view; discern.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Beholden Be*hold"en, p. a. [Old p. p. of behold, used in the primitive sense of the simple verb hold.] Obliged; bound in gratitude; indebted. But being so beholden to the Prince. --Tennyson.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If you are beholden to someone, you are in debt to them in some way or you feel that you have a duty to them because they have helped you. We feel really beholden to them for what they've done. ADJ: v-link ADJ to n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Obliged, indebted, bound, in debt, obligated, under obligation. 2. Obliged, grateful, thankful, devoted.

Moby Thesaurus

acknowledging, appreciative, beholden to, bound, bounden, bounden to, cognizant of, committed, crediting, duty-bound, grateful, in debt, in duty bound, indebted, indebted to, much obliged, obligate, obligated, obliged, obliged to, pledged, saddled, sensible, thankful, tied, under obligation