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Bent   /bɛnt/   Listen
verb
Bend  v. t.  (past & past part. bent; pres. part. bending)  
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." "Towards Coventry bend we our course." "Bending her eyes... upon her parent."
3.
To apply closely or with interest; to direct. "To bend his mind to any public business." "But when to mischief mortals bend their will."
4.
To cause to yield; to render submissive; to subdue. "Except she bend her humor."
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.
To bend the brow, to knit the brow, as in deep thought or in anger; to scowl; to frown.
Synonyms: To lean; stoop; deflect; bow; yield.


Bend  v. i.  (past & past part. bent; pres. part. bending)  
1.
To be moved or strained out of a straight line; to crook or be curving; to bow. "The green earth's end Where the bowed welkin slow doth bend."
2.
To jut over; to overhang. "There is a cliff, whose high and bending head Looks fearfully in the confined deep."
3.
To be inclined; to be directed. "To whom our vows and wished bend."
4.
To bow in prayer, or in token of submission. "While each to his great Father bends."


Bent  v.  Imp. & p. p. of Bend.


adjective
Bent  adj., past part.  
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.


noun
Bent  n.  
1.
The state of being curved, crooked, or inclined from a straight line; flexure; curvity; as, the bent of a bow. (Obs.)
2.
A declivity or slope, as of a hill. (R.)
3.
A leaning or bias; proclivity; tendency of mind; inclination; disposition; purpose; aim. "With a native bent did good pursue."
4.
Particular direction or tendency; flexion; course. "Bents and turns of the matter."
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."
Synonyms: 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."


Bent  n.  
1.
A reedlike grass; a stalk of stiff, coarse grass. "His spear a bent, both stiff and strong."
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.) "Bowmen bickered upon the bent."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Bent" Quotes from Famous Books



... the Father's side, that it might be for the better ground of establishment to all those that are, or are to be, the children of the promise. Methinks it is wonderful to consider that the God and Father of our souls, by Jesus Christ, should be so bent upon the salvation of sinners, that He would covenant with His Son Jesus for the security of them, and also that there should pass an oath on both sides for the confirmation of Their resolution to do good. As if the Lord had said, My Son, Thou and I have here made a covenant, that I on My ...
— The Works of John Bunyan • John Bunyan
... at her enjoyment. The luncheon finished, the washing was resumed, and as the waif was now able to help, she soon looked more respectable. But Plato had not finished his work of mercy. He looked at the door leading to the parlor, then at her; and finally bent down tenderly to her little torn ears, as if whispering, but she would not move. Perhaps in all her wretched life she had never been so comfortable, and believed in letting well enough alone. Reason and persuasion alike useless, ...
— The Junior Classics Volume 8 - Animal and Nature Stories • Selected and arranged by William Patten
... we know that the wild parent of the ass has striped legs, we may feel confident that the occasional appearance of stripes on the legs of the domestic ass is due to direct reversion; but this will not account for the lower end of the shoulder-stripe being sometimes angularly bent or slightly forked. So, again, when we see dun and other coloured horses with stripes on the spine, shoulders, and legs, we are led, from reasons formerly given, to believe that they reappear from ...
— The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Volume II (of 2) • Charles Darwin
... last words were gasped out. Her son bent his head to hear her: he stood gazing at her face, expecting to hear her speak again. Gradually he became aware that he was alone in the world. His grief was too deep for tears. For hours he stood there, ...
— The Ferryman of Brill - and other stories • William H. G. Kingston
... old-standing engagement at Manchester in the vast St. James's Hall, and I begged him to cancel it. He replied that he could not afford to forfeit twenty pounds. "What is that to your life?" I asked. He only smiled grimly. His mind was made up, and he was not to be bent ...
— Reminiscences of Charles Bradlaugh • George W. Foote


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