as in curved
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
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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
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4
as in curving
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 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
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6
as in attaching
to cause (something) to hold to another
bend a leash to the dog's collar
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bending
Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 29 Jan. 2026
Digging in Far from bending to the pressure, the Cuban government is digging in.
—Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 29 Jan. 2026
Murza also recommends bending your arms and keeping your hands out of your pockets.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 28 Jan. 2026
His talent for pulling music out of phase, bending instruments to his will and inspiring the room into new realms really pushed Maren and me to summon fresh melodies and new stories out of our writing.
—Melinda Newman, Billboard, 26 Jan. 2026
Roger Rowe School students Faith Marshall, 8, Savannah Jass, 12, and Charlize Jass, 13, spent the 2025 rodeo season traveling throughout Southern California competing in barrel racing and pole bending with the goal of qualifying for the CJRA Finals.
—News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2026
Instead of bending work to fit software, software can finally adapt to the work.
—John Sviokla, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Weeks later and about 90 blocks south, fellow Tony winner Matthew Broderick began playing the pious con man that causes holy hell in Lucas Hnath and Sarah Benson’s gender-bending revival.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
Leading the pack was Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s genre-bending horror film, which made history by earning 16 Academy Award nominations, the most ever received by a single film.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 22 Jan. 2026
Verb
Between Brothers is a genre-bending mix of odd-couple road trip, historical mystery, and family therapy, among other things.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 29 Jan. 2026
Digging in Far from bending to the pressure, the Cuban government is digging in.
—Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 29 Jan. 2026
Murza also recommends bending your arms and keeping your hands out of your pockets.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 28 Jan. 2026
His talent for pulling music out of phase, bending instruments to his will and inspiring the room into new realms really pushed Maren and me to summon fresh melodies and new stories out of our writing.
—Melinda Newman, Billboard, 26 Jan. 2026
Roger Rowe School students Faith Marshall, 8, Savannah Jass, 12, and Charlize Jass, 13, spent the 2025 rodeo season traveling throughout Southern California competing in barrel racing and pole bending with the goal of qualifying for the CJRA Finals.
—News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2026
Instead of bending work to fit software, software can finally adapt to the work.
—John Sviokla, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Weeks later and about 90 blocks south, fellow Tony winner Matthew Broderick began playing the pious con man that causes holy hell in Lucas Hnath and Sarah Benson’s gender-bending revival.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2026
Leading the pack was Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s genre-bending horror film, which made history by earning 16 Academy Award nominations, the most ever received by a single film.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bending
Adjective
-
Play with the traditional French manicure and swap the curved tip for a heart shape.—
Kara Jillian Brown,
InStyle,
31 Jan. 2026
-
It’s filled with curved desks arranged in rows, each equipped with multiple computer monitors.—
Isaac Stanley-Becker,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Infiniti’s nomination follows an outcry over her exclusion from the Academy Awards, with co-star Leonardo DiCaprio among those arching an eyebrow.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
27 Jan. 2026
-
At one point, the arching filament detached from one of its anchor points on the sun and launched out into space, blown by the ferocity of the solar wind.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Firm research shows mom-and-pop investors are typically devoting only a small portion of their overall portfolios to these speculative plays, while keeping most of their money in more traditional investments.—
Yun Li,Kate Rooney,Alex Harring,
CNBC,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The state is devoting $50 million in federal grant funding this year to cancer screening, prevention and treatment.—
Virginia Barreda,
Des Moines Register,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Alcaraz is aiming to be the youngest ever to win titles at all four Grand Slams.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
1 Feb. 2026
-
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.—
Staff Reports,
The Providence Journal,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The ridges all lean the same way, slanting and curving in from the lower left of the frame, which ESA noted reflects the direction of the prevailing wind in this region.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
20 Jan. 2026
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This results in plasma flows curving backward instead of expanding freely, and old plasma is pushed sideways, forming long, wispy tails.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The distorting design of the Senate and the Electoral College, the filibuster’s persistence, and centralized leadership have all contributed to legislative ossification.—
Duncan Hosie,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Removing those financial incentives would allow care to be organized around quality and access rather than distorting care into forms most favored by bureaucrats.—
Tomas J. Philipson,
Fortune,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Vanguard has a rotary dial, an info-dense LCD screen, nice aluminum housing for the keyboard, plus a magnetic-attaching wrist rest that’s plush and looks sophisticated.—
Cameron Faulkner,
The Verge,
20 Jan. 2026
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One of the most tedious parts of ordering a new rug is attaching nonstick pads to the bottom.—
Gabriela Izquierdo,
Southern Living,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Also mentioned is an auto-hitch system to simplify hooking it up to the tow vehicle.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
5 Jan. 2026
-
The great Amazon in its north drains large areas as does the Parana-River Plate watershed to its south that reaches the Atlantic in the estuary between Argentina and Uruguay, The San Francisco flows north for hundreds of miles before hooking a right and dropping to the Atlantic.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bending. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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