Definitions for: Bent


[n] 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"
[n] a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way; "the set of his mind was obvious"
[n] grass for pastures and lawns especially bowling and putting greens
[adj] used especially of the head or upper back; "a bent head and sloping shoulders"
[adj] used of the back and knees; stooped; "on bended knee"; "with bent (or bended) back"
[adj] of metal e.g.; "bent nails"; "a car with a crumpled front end"; "dented fenders"
[adj] fixed in your purpose; "bent on going to the theater"; "dead set against intervening"; "out to win every event"
[adj] altered from an originally straight condition; "a bent wire"



Webster (1913) Definition: Bent,
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. [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.


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.

Synonyms: bended, bent grass, bent on(p), bentgrass, bowed, crooked, crumpled, damaged, dead set(p), dented, hang, inclined, intent on(p), knack, out to(p), resolute, set, unerect

See Also: Agrostis, Agrostis canina, Agrostis nebulosa, Agrostis palustris, brown bent, cloud grass, creeping bent, creeping bentgrass, disposition, dog bent, endowment, genus Agrostis, gift, grass, inclination, natural endowment, Rhode Island bent, talent, tendency, velvet bent, velvet bent grass

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