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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in curves
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 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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in attaches
to cause (something) to hold to another
bend a leash to the dog's collar
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2025
But Sex and the City bends to no rules!
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Sep. 2025
Our democracy bends but does not break.
—John Hope Bryant, Time, 6 Sep. 2025
Yet Antonia isn’t fragile; her forceful imagination bends the others to her will.
—Jillian Steinhauer, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2025
The sides and top of the car were damaged, and the car appeared to have crashed into a building where the road bends.
—Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 4 Sep. 2025
The culture bends toward drama, employees disengage, and real progress is delayed.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
When prompted about this particular issue, Rhonda Odom-Pollard, Sakeenah’s mom, simply bends her elbows and turns her palms up.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 13 Aug. 2025
The infrastructure bends with them.
—Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025
Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
With 60 percent of its 2,952 pounds over the front wheels, hard pushes at 9/10ths through tight 30 mph bends reveal clear understeer; however, on faster, sweeping corners, the balance feels spot on.
—Michael Harley, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
His voice took a few beats to settle, but in the meantime who wouldn’t be captivated by Martin’s joyful skips, knee bends, winks and grins?
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
Instead of going dark, some sunlight still reaches the moon, glowing red because Earth’s atmosphere bends and filters the sunlight.
—Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 5 Sep. 2025
For more uniform waves, though, Leake recommends loose twists and rope braids with six sections—this will make for tighter bends—always wrapping them away from the face for a more voluminous, and overall more flattering, style.
—Lisa Desantis, Glamour, 25 Aug. 2025
Zivix reports that its algorithms can register complex playing techniques like polyphonic bends, slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs, tapping and muting.
—New Atlas, 21 Aug. 2025
Trapped in a terrifying world where reality bends and memory betrays, Polly must navigate a series of impossible choices.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2025
If Trump bends to Chinese pressure and lifts HBM controls, China could more easily produce AI chips at scale, Biden had feared.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 11 Aug. 2025
Verb
This happens because the material’s own magnetization (usually from electron spin) bends the motion of electrons.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2025
But Sex and the City bends to no rules!
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Sep. 2025
Our democracy bends but does not break.
—John Hope Bryant, Time, 6 Sep. 2025
Yet Antonia isn’t fragile; her forceful imagination bends the others to her will.
—Jillian Steinhauer, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2025
The sides and top of the car were damaged, and the car appeared to have crashed into a building where the road bends.
—Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 4 Sep. 2025
The culture bends toward drama, employees disengage, and real progress is delayed.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
When prompted about this particular issue, Rhonda Odom-Pollard, Sakeenah’s mom, simply bends her elbows and turns her palms up.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 13 Aug. 2025
The infrastructure bends with them.
—Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025
Noun
The tips of the arms were primarily used for bends, while elongations were more frequent closer to the body.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
With 60 percent of its 2,952 pounds over the front wheels, hard pushes at 9/10ths through tight 30 mph bends reveal clear understeer; however, on faster, sweeping corners, the balance feels spot on.
—Michael Harley, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
His voice took a few beats to settle, but in the meantime who wouldn’t be captivated by Martin’s joyful skips, knee bends, winks and grins?
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
Instead of going dark, some sunlight still reaches the moon, glowing red because Earth’s atmosphere bends and filters the sunlight.
—Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 5 Sep. 2025
For more uniform waves, though, Leake recommends loose twists and rope braids with six sections—this will make for tighter bends—always wrapping them away from the face for a more voluminous, and overall more flattering, style.
—Lisa Desantis, Glamour, 25 Aug. 2025
Zivix reports that its algorithms can register complex playing techniques like polyphonic bends, slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs, tapping and muting.
—New Atlas, 21 Aug. 2025
Trapped in a terrifying world where reality bends and memory betrays, Polly must navigate a series of impossible choices.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2025
If Trump bends to Chinese pressure and lifts HBM controls, China could more easily produce AI chips at scale, Biden had feared.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bends
Verb
-
Nosrat devotes a whole chapter of Good Things to homemade condiments, components, and toppings.—
Amiel Stanek,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
-
This scene must have inspired the one in the iconic six-hour 1995 BBC series, which devotes a full minute to Elizabeth’s muddy walk.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Streaming Thursdays on Disney+ and Hulu, the podcast is produced by BBC Studios and aims to deepen fan engagement throughout Season 34.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Kamo‘oalewa is one of the destinations of China’s Tianwen-2 mission launched in May, which aims to collect and return samples from the space rock in 2027.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The mortality curves from Gompertz models associated with the three migratory strategies are presented on panel A–C—the death rates m(x) (gray dots) are also presented.—
GrrlScientist,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
As the road curves around, the Inland Sea comes into view, its small pool feeding into the ocean through a massive slit in the cliff.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Beyond 100 people, culture often fragments, communication distorts and the founder’s vision weakens.—
Jonathan Low,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Organizers have labelled the move a blatant act of erasure that distorts history — a stark contrast to the joy and visibility celebrated at the cookout.—
Essence,
Essence,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The pen—probably the leading reason to get a convertible laptop—charges via USB-C and magnetically attaches to the top cover.—
Mark Coppock,
PC Magazine,
11 Sep. 2025
-
With this extra battery, which attaches to the smartphone's back, users get 40 hours of video playback.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Posture Changes Spine curvatures can make standing up straight difficult, causing lower right back pain.—
Brandi Jones,
Health,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Their team built custom platinum contact lenses, press-molded to precise curvatures, and connected them to electrodes.—
Meghie Rodrigues,
IEEE Spectrum,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The warps also mimic the tilts of the orbits of the planets in our solar system.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Create subheadlines that make one clear promise Your subheadline does the heavy lifting after your headline hooks them.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
To develop it, the research team incorporated mushroom heads or hooks directly into the building components.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bends. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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