as in twisting
marked by a long series of irregular curves
the river takes a long bending path to the sea
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in arching
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in devoting
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 aiming
to point or turn (something) toward a target or goal
bent all of his efforts toward making his first documentary film
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in curving
to turn away from a straight line or course
the stream bends slightly to the east
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in distorting
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in attaching
to cause (something) to hold to another
bend a leash to the dog's collar
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bending
Emily Bazar, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2025
An inevitable part of lawn maintenance, ridding your space of weeds often takes hours to do and requires bending, straining, and stretching in less-than-ideal positions to get the job done.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 23 Sep. 2025
Afterall, the Jazz-fusion and genre-bending artist, based in London, is known for his dreamy soundscapes and poetic aesthetic.
—Akili King, Essence, 22 Sep. 2025
Now 22, Kehoe's genre-bending sound has a huge following, as evidenced by the alt-rock artist's more than 1 million followers on Instagram.
—Amanda Hancock, Louisville Courier Journal, 21 Sep. 2025
In recent observations, the light from a distant, dusty galaxy called HerS-3 was split into five rather than four images, suggesting something unusual was bending the light in this unexpected way, according to a statement from Rutgers University.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 20 Sep. 2025
Unfocus your eyes on the relentless A-list madness of The Morning Show, though, and some compelling ideas emerge from the patterns — and not just about movie stars bending streaming television to their will.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
Yet, new research suggests that bending ice and adding salt to it could transform this winter nuisance into a potential source of sustainable power.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2025
Marie fights the Hometeamers using her blood-bending powers, and a video of the aftermath goes viral on social media.
—Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
But in 2023, after decades of research, scientists celebrated several breakthroughs that have already started bending the curve on hospitalizations and deaths.
—Emily Bazar, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2025
An inevitable part of lawn maintenance, ridding your space of weeds often takes hours to do and requires bending, straining, and stretching in less-than-ideal positions to get the job done.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 23 Sep. 2025
Afterall, the Jazz-fusion and genre-bending artist, based in London, is known for his dreamy soundscapes and poetic aesthetic.
—Akili King, Essence, 22 Sep. 2025
Now 22, Kehoe's genre-bending sound has a huge following, as evidenced by the alt-rock artist's more than 1 million followers on Instagram.
—Amanda Hancock, Louisville Courier Journal, 21 Sep. 2025
In recent observations, the light from a distant, dusty galaxy called HerS-3 was split into five rather than four images, suggesting something unusual was bending the light in this unexpected way, according to a statement from Rutgers University.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 20 Sep. 2025
Unfocus your eyes on the relentless A-list madness of The Morning Show, though, and some compelling ideas emerge from the patterns — and not just about movie stars bending streaming television to their will.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
Yet, new research suggests that bending ice and adding salt to it could transform this winter nuisance into a potential source of sustainable power.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2025
Marie fights the Hometeamers using her blood-bending powers, and a video of the aftermath goes viral on social media.
—Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bending
Verb
-
Keep your shoulders relaxed and engage your core to avoid arching your back.—
Dana Santas,
CNN Money,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Dirty kicks are essentially high-arching knuckleballs that can land in the middle of the field and take an unpredictable bounce or fly at an angle, depending on how the kicker makes contact.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
John Oliver laid into ABC — and Disney CEO Bob Iger in particular — on Sunday for suspending fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, devoting much of Last Week Tonight to the dangers of media censorship.—
Ryan Schwartz,
TVLine,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Government involvement in markets hinders competition and makes firms preoccupied with managing their relationships with officials rather than devoting energy and resources to improving their products.—
Alden Abbott,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Is there some reason to postpone or dawdle on aiming for better for Milwaukee kids?—
Alan J. Borsuk,
jsonline.com,
26 Sep. 2025
-
The Nebraska Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.—
Jay Cannon,
USA Today,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The eclipse maximum This magnificent view of the sun's disk was captured minutes after the local eclipse maximum, when 70% of the solar surface surface was hidden by the curving expanse of the moon in the skies above Dunedin in New Zealand.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
21 Sep. 2025
-
Now operated by the 3rd generation of the Scott family, who still cook burn-barrel style on big cinderblock pits under the curving metal roof of the pit house.—
Robert F. Moss,
Southern Living,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Kimmel’s September 15 monologue accused MAGA supporters of distorting the shooter’s motives, despite reports that the assailant leaned left politically.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Carr said Monday that Democrats are distorting his comments and misrepresenting the work at the FCC.—
Alexander Bolton,
The Hill,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The book is divided into three sections, and each one begins with a character or characters finding a new house, and attaching so much hope to it.—
Jennifer Wilson,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025
-
While the specs on this unit list knots as pre-bleached—the tiny dots attaching each strand to the lace, designed to mimic a natural scalp—they’re actually still pretty dark and visible.—
Noel Cymone Walker,
StyleCaster,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The brows, similarly, took on many forms — bushy, skinny, straight and curved.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
24 Sep. 2025
-
The area with the high chance to develop could ultimately take a curved path similar to Gabrielle that brings it near Bermuda next week.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
After hooking his tee shot into trees on the adjacent 16th hole, Scheffler punched out, walked back to the 18th fairway, and shot over tents and trees to land 40 feet from the flag.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bending. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share