1
as in arches
to cause to turn away from a straight line
she bent the blade of the knife when she got it jammed in the drawer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devotes
to occupy (oneself) diligently or with close attention
bent herself to the task for the rest of the day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in aims
to point or turn (something) toward a target or goal
bent all of his efforts toward making his first documentary film
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in curves
to turn away from a straight line or course
the stream bends slightly to the east
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in distorts
to change so much as to create a wrong impression or alter the meaning of
attorneys bending the facts to put their client in the most favorable light
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in attaches
to cause (something) to hold to another
bend a leash to the dog's collar
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in curvatures
something that curves or is curved
it's hard to see around that bend in the road, so be careful
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bends
Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Jan. 2026
Ole Miss chips away Canes defense again bends but doesn’t break.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 9 Jan. 2026
When a massive body passes between Earth and a distant background star, its gravity bends the star’s light, briefly making the star appear brighter.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 3 Jan. 2026
The space telescope's primary science goals include studying dark energy, mapping dark matter and discovering thousands of exoplanets via gravitational microlensing, in which a massive foreground object bends the light of a background star, temporarily magnifying it like a lens.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 1 Jan. 2026
The video then ends with them hugging and holding up their sonogram images around the Christmas tree as Carlo bends down to kiss Sarah's belly.
—Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 25 Dec. 2025
Broadway, after all, also bends.
—Sam Lipsyte, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025
Uchis has built a reputation as a bilingual and genre-fluid artist who bends musical boundaries with ease.
—Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 16 Oct. 2025
From the other side, the highway takes off in Madison and then bends off the main road to the charming town of New Glarus.
—Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Sarah Lindenfeld Hall, Popular Science, 7 Jan. 2026
Brunette run through with warm bands of chestnut is a toasty, pretty aesthetic, particularly when paired with beachy bends.
—Calin Van Paris, InStyle, 30 Dec. 2025
The arc of history, wise people have assured us, bends towards justice.
—Belinda Luscombe, Time, 18 Dec. 2025
Ultimately, says Kumar, the best way to avoid these issues is to store your passport securely, keep it dry, and make sure nothing bends or presses on it, including back pockets or overstuffed bags.
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 11 Dec. 2025
To calculate the expansion rate, the team also needed to estimate how mass is distributed inside the lensing galaxies, because the shape of the lens determines how light bends.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 7 Dec. 2025
Because a disposable pan bends so easily, place it on a broiler-safe sheet pan before putting it in the oven.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 4 Nov. 2025
The series has a hazy, dreamlike quality in which narrative logic bends but emotional coherence holds.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2025
The tech — Loomia Electronic Layer (LEL) — is a flexible circuit sheet that bends, sketches, and survives in fabrics while carrying functions such as heating, lighting, or pressure detection.
—Jamie Landeau, Refinery29, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
When the weight of the snow severely bends branches, gently sweep away the weighty material.
—Noun
Luckily, a side effect of knuckle cracking is not the bends—or even a case of arthritis.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for bends
Verb
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Note, however, the Vision XL is also essentially one big 10-in-tall block with a completely flat roof, whereas some hardshell RTTs, including the Skycamp, have roof designs with a high point that arches down toward the front and/or back.—
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The 1,180 foot-tall Chenab Bridge arches over the river of the same name and is the first railway link between Kashmir and the rest of India.—
Verb
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California devotes $108 billion annually to health and human services, supplemented by $124 billion in federal funding.—
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Instead, the movie devotes itself to weighing the cost of Jake’s arrival on Pandora, and his transformation into a member of its native species.—
Verb
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Immediately after the Honda shifts from reverse into drive and begins to move ahead, that agent at the front of the vehicle, standing near the driver’s side headlight, pulls out a gun and aims at the driver.—
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The company says the system aims to tackle persistent challenges in the hospitality industry, including labor shortages, inconsistent drink quality, and long service times.—
Verb
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Maggie Daley Park Chicago The quarter-mile outdoor skating ribbon in Maggie Daley Park—with 27,500 feet of ice surface—is a looping path with slight elevation changes that curves past pine trees, a rock climbing wall, and a gorgeous city view.—
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The trail brushes past the Bell Rock formation, then curves away from the road and crosses some red rock ledges offering impressive vistas.—
Verb
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Freedom from want mattered because deprivation distorts judgment.—
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When identity distorts reality Social identity can shape how people interpret even objectively true facts.—
Verb
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The top lid screws securely over the straw to keep contaminants out, and the filter is a combination microfilter with a carbon insert that attaches to the straw portion of the lid.—
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This slide-out keyboard attaches magnetically using MagSafe or Qi2 connections.—
Noun
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Its outstanding appeal, grandish curvatures and extraordinary interior design are just the norm for the upscale interior brand.—
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Posture Changes Spine curvatures can make standing up straight difficult, causing lower right back pain.—
Noun
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By my count, there are 70 such pairings still on the table out of a possible 496, the vast majority of which are interconference tilts.—
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But their messages avoid stark class attacks on billionaires and are more aimed at winning over swing voters rather than recruiting new supporters with progressive tilts.—
Cite this Entry
“Bends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bends. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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