Adjacent Words

Bent definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BENT, pp. Strained; incurvated; made crooked; inclined; subdued.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: fixed in your purpose; "bent on going to the theater"; "dead set against intervening"; "out to win every event" [syn: bent, bent on, dead set, out to]
2: used of the back and knees; stooped; "on bended knee"; "with bent (or bended) back" [syn: bended, bent]
3: of metal e.g.; "bent nails"; "a car with a crumpled front end"; "dented fenders" [syn: bent, crumpled, dented] n
1: a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way; "the set of his mind was obvious" [syn: bent, set]
2: grass for pastures and lawns especially bowling and putting greens [syn: bent, bent grass, bent-grass]
3: an area of grassland unbounded by fences or hedges
4: a special way of doing something; "he had a bent for it"; "he had a special knack for getting into trouble"; "he couldn't get the hang of it" [syn: bent, knack, hang]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, grassy place, bent grass, from Old English beonot-; akin to Old High German binuz rush Date: 14th century 1. unenclosed grassland 2. a. (1) a reedy grass (2) a stalk of stiff coarse grass b. bent grass II. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from past participle of benden to bend Date: 14th century 1. changed by bending out of an originally straight or even condition <bent twigs> 2. strongly inclined ; determined <was bent on going> 3. slang a. different from the normal or usual b. chiefly British dishonest, corrupt III. noun Etymology: irregular from ¹bend Date: 1586 1. a. a strong inclination or interest ; bias b. a special inclination or capacity ; talent 2. capacity of endurance 3. a transverse framework (as in a bridge) to carry lateral as well as vertical loads Synonyms: see gift

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. past and past part. of BEND(1) v. --adj. 1 curved or having an angle. 2 sl. dishonest, illicit. 3 sl. sexually deviant. 4 (foll. by on) determined to do or have. --n. 1 an inclination or bias. 2 (foll. by for) a talent for something specified (a bent for mimicry). 2. n. 1 a any stiff grass of the genus Agrostis. b any of various grasslike reeds, rushes, or sedges. 2 a stiff stalk of a grass usu. with a flexible base. 3 archaic or dial. a heath or unenclosed pasture. Etymology: ME repr. OE beonet- (in place-names), f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bent Bent, a. & p. p. 1. Changed by pressure so as to be no longer straight; crooked; as, a bent pin; a bent lever. 2. Strongly inclined toward something, so as to be resolved, determined, set, etc.; -- said of the mind, character, disposition, desires, etc., and used with on; as, to be bent on going to college; he is bent on mischief.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bent Bent, imp. & p. p. of Bend.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bent Bent, n. [See Bend, n. & v.] 1. The state of being curved, crooked, or inclined from a straight line; flexure; curvity; as, the bent of a bow. [Obs.] --Wilkins. 2. A declivity or slope, as of a hill. [R.] --Dryden. 3. A leaning or bias; proclivity; tendency of mind; inclination; disposition; purpose; aim. --Shak. With a native bent did good pursue. --Dryden. 4. Particular direction or tendency; flexion; course. Bents and turns of the matter. --Locke. 5. (Carp.) A transverse frame of a framed structure. 6. Tension; force of acting; energy; impetus. [Archaic] The full bent and stress of the soul. --Norris. Syn: Predilection; turn. Usage: Bent, Bias, Inclination, Prepossession. These words agree in describing a permanent influence upon the mind which tends to decide its actions. Bent denotes a fixed tendency of the mind in a given direction. It is the widest of these terms, and applies to the will, the intellect, and the affections, taken conjointly; as, the whole bent of his character was toward evil practices. Bias is literally a weight fixed on one side of a ball used in bowling, and causing it to swerve from a straight course. Used figuratively, bias applies particularly to the judgment, and denotes something which acts with a permanent force on the character through that faculty; as, the bias of early education, early habits, etc. Inclination is an excited state of desire or appetency; as, a strong inclination to the study of the law. Prepossession is a mingled state of feeling and opinion in respect to some person or subject, which has laid hold of and occupied the mind previous to inquiry. The word is commonly used in a good sense, an unfavorable impression of this kind being denominated a prejudice. ``Strong minds will be strongly bent, and usually labor under a strong bias; but there is no mind so weak and powerless as not to have its inclinations, and none so guarded as to be without its prepossessions.'' --Crabb.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bent Bent, n. [AS. beonet; akin to OHG. pinuz, G. binse, rush, bent grass; of unknown origin.] 1. A reedlike grass; a stalk of stiff, coarse grass. His spear a bent, both stiff and strong. --Drayton. 2. (Bot.) A grass of the genus Agrostis, esp. Agrostis vulgaris, or redtop. The name is also used of many other grasses, esp. in America. 3. Any neglected field or broken ground; a common; a moor. [Obs.] --Wright. Bowmen bickered upon the bent. --Chevy Chase.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bend Bend, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bended or Bent; p. pr. & vb. n. Bending.] [AS. bendan to bend, fr. bend a band, bond, fr. bindan to bind. See Bind, v. t., and cf. 3d & 4th Bend.] 1. To strain or move out of a straight line; to crook by straining; to make crooked; to curve; to make ready for use by drawing into a curve; as, to bend a bow; to bend the knee. 2. To turn toward some certain point; to direct; to incline. ``Bend thine ear to supplication.'' --Milton. Towards Coventry bend we our course. --Shak. Bending her eyes . . . upon her parent. --Sir W. Scott. 3. To apply closely or with interest; to direct. To bend his mind to any public business. --Temple. But when to mischief mortals bend their will. --Pope. 4. To cause to yield; to render submissive; to subdue. ``Except she bend her humor.'' --Shak. 5. (Naut.) To fasten, as one rope to another, or as a sail to its yard or stay; or as a cable to the ring of an anchor. --Totten. To bend the brow, to knit the brow, as in deep thought or in anger; to scowl; to frown. --Camden. Syn: To lean; stoop; deflect; bow; yield.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Bent is the past tense and past participle of bend. 2. If an object is bent, it is damaged and no longer has its correct shape. The trees were all bent and twisted from the wind. ADJ 3. If a person is bent, their body has become curved because of old age or disease. (WRITTEN) ...a bent, frail, old man. ADJ 4. If someone is bent on doing something, especially something harmful, they are determined to do it. He's bent on suicide. ADJ: v-link ADJ on/upon n/-ing [disapproval] 5. If you have a bent for something, you have a natural ability to do it or a natural interest in it. His bent for natural history directed him towards his first job. = flair N-SING: with supp, oft N for n 6. If someone is of a particular bent, they hold a particular set of beliefs. ...economists of a socialist bent. = persuasion N-SING: adj N 7. If you say that someone in a position of responsibility is bent, you mean that they are dishonest or do illegal things. (BRIT INFORMAL) ...this bent accountant. ADJ 8. If someone is bent double, the top part of their body is leaning forward towards their legs, usually because they are in great pain or because they are laughing a lot. In American English, you can also say that someone is bent over double. He left the courtroom on the first day bent double with stomach pain. PHRASE: oft PHR with/in n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Disposition, inclination, tendency, turn, penchant, learning, bias, propensity, proclivity, predisposition, predilection, partiality, liking, fondness, proneness, appetency. 2. Bent-grass, wiry grass, agrostis. 3. Dried reed, stalk. 4. Wild land, hill, moor, wild. II. a. Crooked, hooked, bowed, curved, flexed, deflected, aduncous, arcuate, incurvate.

Moby Thesaurus

V-shaped, Y-shaped, a thing for, ability, abnormal, affinity, afflicted, aim, akimbo, an ear for, an eye for, anamorphous, angular, animus, apt, aptitude, aptness, arched, arciform, askew, asymmetric, awry, azimuth, bag, bearing, bend, bias, billowing, billowy, boiled, bombed, boozy, bowed, canned, capacity for, cast, character, chosen kind, cockeyed, cockeyed drunk, conatus, conduciveness, constitution, contorted, cornered, corrupt, corrupted, course, crazy, crocked, crocko, crook, crooked, crotched, crumpled, crunched, cup of tea, current, curvaceous, curvate, curvated, curve, curved, curvesome, curviform, curvilineal, curvilinear, curving, curvy, decided, decisive, deflected, delight, determined, deviant, deviative, diathesis, direction, direction line, dishonest, disposed, disposition, dispositioned, distorted, drift, druthers, eagerness, eccentricity, elevated, faculty, fancy, fascination, favor, favoritism, feeling for, felicity, flair, forejudgment, forked, fried, fuddled, furcal, furcate, geniculate, geniculated, genius, genius for, geosynclinal, gift, gift for, given, grain, half-seas over, head, heading, helmsmanship, high, hooked, idiosyncrasy, illegal, illuminated, in the mood, inclination, inclined, inclining, incurvate, incurvated, incurved, incurving, individualism, innate aptitude, intent, irregular, jagged, jaundice, jaundiced eye, kidney, knack, knee-shaped, labyrinthine, lay, leaning, liability, lie, likely, liking, line, line of direction, line of march, lit, lit up, loaded, lopsided, lubricated, lurch, lushy, make, makeup, mazy, meandering, mental set, mettle, mind, mind-set, minded, mold, mutual affinity, mutual attraction, muzzy, nature, navigation, nonsymmetric, nose, oiled, one-sided, one-sidedness, organized, orientation, partialism, partiality, particular choice, partisanship, peculiar, penchant, personal choice, perverse, perverted, pickled, pie-eyed, piloting, pissed, pissy-eyed, plastered, point, pointed, polluted, potted, preconception, predilection, predisposed, predisposition, preference, prejudgment, prejudice, prepossession, probability, proclivity, prone, proneness, propensity, quarter, raddled, range, readiness, recurvate, recurvated, recurved, recurving, resolute, resolved, round, rounded, run, saw-toothed, sawtooth, sensitivity to, serpentine, serrate, set, settled, sharp, sharp-cornered, sheer, shellacked, sinuous, skew, skunk-drunk, slant, slue, smashed, soaked, soft spot, soused, sprung, squiffy, stamp, steerage, steering, stewed, stinko, strain, strange, streak, stripe, style, susceptibility, swacked, swerve, sympathy, talent, tanked, taste, temper, temperament, tendency, tenor, thing, tight, tortuous, track, trend, tropism, turn, turn for, turn of mind, twist, twisted, type, undetachment, undispassionateness, undulant, unsymmetric, veer, warp, warped, wavy, way, weakness, weird, willingness, wry, zigzag