bent

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bent¹

(bĕnt)

Past tense and past participle of bend¹.

adj.

1. Altered from an originally straight or even condition: picked up pieces of bent wire.

2. Determined to take a course of action: I was bent on going to the concert.

3. Chiefly British Corrupt; venal.

1. A tendency, disposition, or inclination: "The natural bent of my mind was to science" (Thomas Paine).

2. A transverse structural member or framework that is used for strengthening a bridge or trestle.

bent²

(bĕnt)

1. Bentgrass.

2. The stiff stalk of various grasses.

3. An area of grassland unbounded by hedges or fences.

[Middle English, from Old English beonet (attested only in place names ); akin to German Binse, rush.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bent

(bɛnt)

adj

1. not straight; curved

2. (foll by on) fixed (on a course of action); resolved (to); determined (to)

3. slang

a. dishonest; corrupt

b. (of goods) stolen

c. crazy; mad

d. Brit offensive homosexual

4. personal inclination, propensity, or aptitude

5. capacity of endurance (esp in the phrase to the top of one's bent)

6. (General Engineering) civil engineering a framework placed across a structure to stiffen it

bent

(bɛnt)

1. (Plants) short for bentgrass

2. (Plants) a stalk of bent grass

3. (Plants) archaic any stiff grass or sedge

4. dialect Scot and Northern English heath or moorland

[Old English bionot; related to Old Saxon binet, Old High German binuz rush]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bent¹

(bɛnt)

adj.

1. curved; crooked: a bent back.

2. determined; set; resolved: bent on succeeding.

3. Chiefly Brit. corrupt.

4. predilection; talent: a bent for painting.

5. capacity of endurance.

6. a transverse frame, as of a bridge or an aqueduct, designed to support either vertical or horizontal loads.

[1525–35; orig. past participle of bend ¹]

bent²

(bɛnt)

n.

1. bent grass.

2. a stalk of bent grass.

[1300–50; Middle English; Old English beonet-, beonot-, c. Old High German binuz rush]

Bending/Bent

As crooked as a corkscrew —George Kaufman and Moss Hart
As crooked as a dog’s elbow —F. T. Elworthy
As crooked as a ram’s horn —Charles Caleb Colton
Bending from the waist as if he was going to close up like a jackknife —John Dos Passos
Bend like a finger joint —Charles Wright
Bend like sheets of tin —Palmer Cox
Bends with her laugh … like a rubber stick being shaken —Alice McDermott
Bent as a country lane —John Wainwright
Bent double like a tree in a high wind —Caryl Phillips
Bent down like violets after rain —Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Bent like a birch ice-laden —James Agee
Bent like a bow —Aharon Megged
A variation on the bent bow image from William Mcllvanney’s novel, Laidlow: “Arching his body like a bow.”
Bent like a broken flower —Algernon Charles Swinburne
Bent like a rainbow —Robert Southey
Another way to express this image is to be “Bent like a rainbow arch.”
Bent … like a soldier at the approach of an assault —Victor Hugo
Bent like a wishbone —William Kennedy
Bent slightly like a man who has been shot but continues to stand —Flannery O’Connor
(The headwaiter) bowed like a poppy in the breeze —Ogden Nash
Bows down like a willow tree in a storm —Erich Maria Remarque
Coiled like a fetus —William H. Gass
A variation by Derek Lambert:“Curled up like a bulky fetus.”
Coiled up like the letter ‘S’ —Damon Runyon
Crooked like a comma —Sharon Sheehe Stark
Curled himself like a comma into the waiting cab —William H. Hallhan
Curled like a ball —Sterling Hayden
Curled up in a ball like a wet puppy —Amos Oz
Curled up [in sleeping position] like a fist around an egg —Leonard Michaels
Curled up like a gun-dog —Colette
(Bent over your books) curled up like a porcupine with a bellyache —Marge Piercy
Curled up like fried bacon —Anon
Curling up like a small animal —Nina Bawden
Curling up like burning cardboard —Lawrence Durrell
[A cat] curls up like a dormer mouse —Jayne Anne Phillips
Drooped like a flower in the frost —John Greenleaf Whittier
Folded over like a ruler from the waist —William H. Gass
Folded up, like a marionette with cheap wooden hinges, and sat down —Graham Masterton
(Never will I be) gibbous like the moon —Diane Ackerman
Lean forward like firemen pulling a hose —Miller Williams
Tilting like a paper cutout —Susan Minot
Twisted as an old paint tube —Fannie Hurst
A very old lady, her back curved over like a snail’s —Daphne Merkin

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	bent - a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way; "the set of his mind was obvious" set inclination, tendency, disposition - an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others; "he had an inclination to give up too easily"; "a tendency to be too strict"
	2.	bent - grass for pastures and lawns especially bowling and putting greens bent grass, bent-grass grass - narrow-leaved green herbage: grown as lawns; used as pasture for grazing animals; cut and dried as hay Agrostis, genus Agrostis - annual or perennial grasses cosmopolitan in northern hemisphere: bent grass (so named from `bent' meaning an area of unfenced grassland) Agrostis canina, brown bent, dog bent, Rhode Island bent, velvet bent, velvet bent grass - common grass with slender stems and narrow leaves Agrostis nebulosa, cloud grass - Spanish grass with light feathery panicles grown for dried bouquets Agrostis palustris, creeping bent, creeping bentgrass - common pasture or lawn grass spread by long runners
	3.	bent - an area of grassland unbounded by fences or hedges grassland - land where grass or grasslike vegetation grows and is the dominant form of plant life
	4.	bent - 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" hang, knack endowment, natural endowment, talent, gift - natural abilities or qualities
Adj.	1.	bent - fixed in your purpose; "bent on going to the theater"; "dead set against intervening"; "out to win every event" bent on, dead set, out to resolute - firm in purpose or belief; characterized by firmness and determination; "stood resolute against the enemy"; "faced with a resolute opposition"; "a resolute and unshakeable faith"
	2.	bent - used of the back and knees; stooped; "on bended knee"; "with bent (or bended) back" bended unerect - not upright in position or posture
	3.	bent - of metal e.g.; "bent nails"; "a car with a crumpled front end"; "dented fenders" crumpled, dented damaged - harmed or injured or spoiled; "I won't buy damaged goods"; "the storm left a wake of badly damaged buildings"

bent

adjective

1. misshapen, twisted, angled, bowed, curved, arched, crooked, crippled, distorted, warped, deformed, tortuous, disfigured, out of shape The trees were all bent and twisted from the wind.
misshapen even, level, true, straight, square, smooth, in line, erect, upright, vertical, aligned, horizontal, plumb, perpendicular

2. stooped, bowed, arched, hunched, stooping a bent, frail, old man

3. (Brit. informal) corrupt, crooked (informal), rotten, shady (informal), fraudulent, dishonest, unscrupulous, unethical, venal, unprincipled, bribable a bent accountant

4. (Offensive slang) gay, homosexual, queer (informal, derogatory) an actor who was as bent as a nine-bob note

noun

1. inclination, ability, taste, facility, talent, leaning, tendency, preference, faculty, forte, flair, knack, penchant, bag (slang), propensity, aptitude, predisposition, predilection, proclivity, turn of mind his bent for natural history

bent on intent on, committed to, set on, fixed on, hell bent on (informal), predisposed to, obsessive about, fixated on, resolved on, insistent on He's bent on suicide.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

bent

adjective

1. Deviating from a straight line:

arced, arched, arciform, bowed, curved, curvilinear, rounded.

2. On an unwavering course of action:

decided, determined, fixed, intent, resolute, set.

noun

1. An inclination to something:

bias, cast, disposition, leaning, partiality, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, proneness, propensity, squint, tendency, trend, turn.

2. An innate capability:

aptitude, aptness, faculty, flair, genius, gift, head, instinct, knack, talent, turn.

Translations

غَيْرُ أَمِيـن مُنْعَطِفمَيْلٌ شَديد

dispozicenadánínečestnýohnutýsklon

anlægbøjetflairtalentuhæderlig

gebeugt korrupt Neigung unehrlich

ανέντιμος λυγισμένος

corrupto curvo doblado inclinación tramposo

taipunuttaittunutkiero

aptitude courbe tordu véreux

nepoštensavijen

görbehajlott

tilhneiging, hneigî

curvo disonesto inclinazione piegato

不正直な曲がった

굽은부정직한

nosliecetieksme

aanleg gebogen krommet de zinnen gezet opomkoopbaar

bøyd hang korrupt

nieuczciwy zgięty

desonesto dobrado

gârbov

бесчестный изогнутый склонность

böjdoärlig

โกงกินคดงอ

bükülmüş eğilimistidatnamussuzyönelim

congkhông trung thực

不诚实的弯曲的爱好

bent

[bent]

A. PT & PP of bend

B. ADJ

1. [wire, pipe] → doblado; (= twisted) → torcido

2. (esp Brit) (= dishonest) → pringado (Sp) , chueco (LAm) , corrupto

3. (Brit) (= homosexual) → del otro bando, invertido

4. to be bent on doing sth (fig) (= determined) → estar resuelto a or empeñado en hacer algo
to be bent on a quarrel → estar resuelto a or empeñado en provocar una riña
to be bent on pleasure → estar resuelto a or empeñado en divertirse

C. N (= inclination) → inclinación f; (= aptitude) → facilidad f
of an artistic bent → con una inclinación artística, con inclinaciones artísticas
to follow one's bent → seguir su inclinación
he has a bent for annoying people → tiene una facilidad para molestar a la gente

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

bent

[ˈbɛnt]

pp of bend

n (= flair) → dispositions fpl, penchant m

adj

(= out of shape) [lever, axle] → coudé(e); [nail, fork] → tordu(e); [tree] → courbé(e); [wire, pipe] → tordu(e); (intentionally) [wire] → plié(e)
a bent fork → une fourchette tordue

(= bowed) [head] → baissé(e)

[person] to be bent double (British) to be bent over double (US) (in pain) → être tordu(e) de douleur; (laughing) → être plié(e) de rire

[person] (= dishonest) → véreux/euse
a bent copper → un ripou , un flic véreux

(= resolved) to be bent on sth → être résolu(e) à qch
to be bent on doing sth → être résolu(e) à faire qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

bent

pret, ptp of bend

adj

metal etc → gebogen; (= out of shape) → verbogen

(Brit inf: = dishonest) person → korrupt; affair → unsauber (inf); he’s bent → er ist ein krummer Hund (inf)

(Brit pej inf: = homosexual) → andersrum pred (inf)

to be bent on something/doing something → etw unbedingt or partout wollen/tun wollen; he seemed bent on self-destruction → er schien von einem Selbstzerstörungstrieb besessen zu sein

n (= aptitude) → Neigung f → (for zu); (= type of mind, character) → Schlag m; to follow one’s bent → seiner Neigung folgen; people with or of a musical bent → Menschen mit einer musikalischen Veranlagung; people of his bent → Leute seines Schlags

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

bent

¹ [bɛnt]

1. pt, pp of bend

2. adj

a. (wire, pipe) → piegato/a, storto/a (fam) (dishonest) → losco/a (offensive) (homosexual) → invertito/a

b. (fig) (determined) to be bent on sth/on doing sth → essere deciso/a a qc/a fare qc
to be bent on a quarrel → voler proprio litigare

3. n (aptitude) → inclinazione f, disposizione f
to follow one's bent → seguire la propria inclinazione

bent

² [bɛnt] n (Bot) common bent → agrostide f bianca

bent²

(bent) noun

a natural inclination. a bent for mathematics.

bent

→ غَيْرُ أَمِيـن, مُنْعَطِف nečestný, ohnutý bøjet, uhæderlig gebeugt, unehrlich ανέντιμος, λυγισμένος corrupto, doblado, tramposo kiero, taipunut tordu, véreux nepošten, savijen disonesto, piegato 不正直な, 曲がった 굽은, 부정직한 krom, omkoopbaar bøyd, korrupt nieuczciwy, zgięty desonesto, dobrado бесчестный, изогнутый böjd, oärlig โกงกิน, คดงอ bükülmüş, namussuz cong, không trung thực 不诚实的, 弯曲的

bent

n. inclinación, curvatura;

a. encorvado-a; inclinado-a;

vt. pp. defend.

bent

pret & pp de bend

References in classic literature ?

Holding his head bent down before him, and struggling with the wind that strove to tear the wraps away from him, Levin was moving up to the copse and had just caught sight of something white behind the oak tree, when there was a sudden flash, the whole earth seemed on fire, and the vault of heaven seemed crashing overhead.

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IN a large and pleasant garden sat little Annie all alone, and she seemed very sad, for drops that were not dew fell fast upon the flowers beside her, who looked wonderingly up, and bent still nearer, as if they longed to cheer and comfort her.

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Not a day passed, in that dangerous intimacy of teacher and pupil, in which my hand was not close to Miss Fairlie's; my cheek, as we bent together over her sketch-book, almost touching hers.

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They traveled that day and part of the next until they came to the rocky plain where the Tin Woodman lay, all battered and bent. His axe was near him, but the blade was rusted and the handle broken off short.

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Miss Murray bent forwards, and looked out of the window as we were passing Mr.

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'It was a bright and sunny morning in the pleasant time of summer, when one of those black monks emerged from the abbey portal, and bent his steps towards the house of the fair sisters.

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Starting and turning round, he beheld a naked savage with a bow bent, and the arrow pointed at his breast.

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And among the hills, on their favorite knoll, Martin and Ruth sat side by side, their heads bent over the same pages, he reading aloud from the love-sonnets of the woman who had loved Browning as it is given to few men to be loved.

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Her body was bent by age; her limbs trembled with palsy; her face, distorted into a mumbling leer, resembled more the grotesque shaping of some wild pencil, than the work of Nature's hand.

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The old owl no longer hooted, and the water-oaks had ceased to moan as they bent their heads.

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The word was given, and they plunged at each other as fiercely as before; once more the blows rained and rattled and flashed; every few moments the quick-eyed seconds would notice that a sword was bent--then they called "Halt!" struck up the contending weapons, and an assisting student straightened the bent one.

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His head was bent down, his bright eyes were fixed upon me, his stumpy hands clenched and held close by his side.

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