Definition of beholdennext
as in obligated
being under obligation for a favor or gift not wanting to be beholden to anyone, he insisted on paying his own way

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 beholden Anyone that wanted to reserve time in the July 19 final was beholden to a full-tourney pledge of as much as $30 million, although your mileage will vary based on any number of extrinsic variables. Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 17 Apr. 2026 There is also concern about being beholden to just a handful of American tech CEOs. Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2026 But Netanyahu was beholden for his political future to the radical minority that supported it, and constantly catered to their whims. Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2025 Yet there’s another genre to which Hill was and continued to be equally beholden, and that’s the Hollywood musical. Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 22 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for beholden
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beholden
Adjective
  • The spokesperson did not respond to specific questions including what the legal basis would be for rescinding obligated funding.
    Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Films like this one, heavily indebted to Irish folk horror, rarely wrap up cleanly.
    Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 1 May 2026
  • The founder of China Evergrande Group, the world’s most indebted property developer, pleaded guilty to charges including misuse of funds, fundraising fraud and illegally taking public deposits, a court in China’s southern city of Shenzhen said.
    Reuters, NBC news, 14 Apr. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Beholden.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beholden. Accessed 6 May. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster