BENT

bent, crumpled, dented

(adjective) of metal e.g.; “bent nails”; “a car with a crumpled front end”; “dented fenders”

bended, bent

(adjective) used of the back and knees; stooped; “on bended knee”; “with bent (or bended) back”

bent, bent on, dead set, out to

(adjective) fixed in your purpose; “bent on going to the theater”; “dead set against intervening”; “out to win every event”

bent, knack, hang

(noun) 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”

bent, set

(noun) a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way; “the set of his mind was obvious”

bent

(noun) an area of grassland unbounded by fences or hedges

bent, bent grass, bent-grass

(noun) grass for pastures and lawns especially bowling and putting greens

BEND

flex, bend, deform, twist, turn

(verb) cause (a plastic object) to assume a crooked or angular form; “bend the rod”; “twist the dough into a braid”; “the strong man could turn an iron bar”

flex, bend

(verb) bend a joint; “flex your wrists”; “bend your knees”

bend

(verb) change direction; “The road bends”

deflect, bend, turn away

(verb) turn from a straight course, fixed direction, or line of interest

bend, flex

(verb) form a curve; “The stick does not bend”

crouch, stoop, bend, bow

(verb) bend one’s back forward from the waist on down; “he crouched down”; “She bowed before the Queen”; “The young man stooped to pick up the girl’s purse”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Verb

bent

simple past tense and past participle of bend

Adjective

bent (comparative benter or more bent, superlative bentest or most bent)

(Of something that is usually straight) folded, dented

(colloquial, chiefly, UK) corrupt, dishonest

(derogatory, colloquial, chiefly, UK) Homosexual.

Determined or insistent.

(Of a person) leading a life of crime.

(slang, football) inaccurately aimed

(colloquial, chiefly, US) Suffering from the bends

(slang) High from both marijuana and alcohol.

Synonyms

• (folded, corrupt): crooked

• (homosexual): queer

Noun

bent (plural bents)

An inclination or talent.

A predisposition to act or react in a particular way.

The state of being curved, crooked, or inclined from a straight line; flexure; curvity.

A declivity or slope, as of a hill.

Particular direction or tendency; flexion; course.

(carpentry) A transverse frame of a framed structure; a subunit of framing.

Such a subunit as a component of a barn's framing, joined to other bents by girts and summer beams.

Such a subunit as a reinforcement to, or integral part of, a bridge's framing.

Tension; force of acting; energy; impetus.

Synonyms

• (an inclination or talent): disposition, predilection, proclivity, propensity, see also predilection

Etymology 2

Noun

bent (countable and uncountable, plural bents)

Any of various stiff or reedy grasses.

A grassy area, grassland.

The old dried stalks of grasses.

Synonyms

(grass): bentgrass

Source: Wiktionary


Bent,

Definition: imp. & p. p. of Bend.

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.

Bent, n. Etym: [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.)

Definition: 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. 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.

Bent, n. Etym: [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.)

Definition: 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

27 April 2024

GREAT

(adjective) remarkable or out of the ordinary in degree or magnitude or effect; “a great crisis”; “had a great stake in the outcome”


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Coffee Trivia

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.

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