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
Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 16 Oct. 2025
According to Einstein, massive objects shape the space around them, as their gravity bends space-time, curving paths of light rays near by.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 10 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
In Murano, a glassmaker bends over the furnace, coaxing color from fire.
—Big Think, 9 Oct. 2025
Perhaps the game bends the Chiefs’ way if fortune had smiled on Bolton on the next series, and the takeaway trend continued.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 9 Oct. 2025
The mascara comes with a flexible brush that bends to extend your lashes, and it’s formulated with bamboo extract and other ingredients that volumize and hydrate your lashes.
—Nicol Natale, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
Additionally, while the show often bends the rules of ballroom for contestants, the tour does not.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Oct. 2025
In Mulholland Drive, Harring and Watts’ magnetic, otherworldly bond bends the surrounding world, leaving it, and them, in a narcotic dream state.
—Samantha Allen, Them., 7 Oct. 2025
Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 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
Sophisticated econometric forecasting models are bad at calling inflection points, when a lasting upward trend bends into a lasting downward one or vice versa.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 21 Sep. 2025
An Einstein Cross forms when the gravity of galaxies in the foreground bends and splits the light of a more distant galaxy into four distinct images.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 20 Sep. 2025
Day and night aren't exactly 12 hours long on the day of the equinox because the Earth's atmosphere refracts, or bends, light in an optical illusion that results in more daylight.
—Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
The fairway bends gently left, bordered by trees and water on the left side, a bunker on the right, and a second water carry into a green guarded by a large bunker on the left.
—Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The river’s bends are driven by larger-scale, longer-term phenomena — the shifting of tectonic plates, the erosion of the riverbank by plant roots, the volume of water flowing through the atmosphere and landscape, and more.
—Joseph Howlett, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Verb
Uchis has built a reputation as a bilingual and genre-fluid artist who bends musical boundaries with ease.
—Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 16 Oct. 2025
According to Einstein, massive objects shape the space around them, as their gravity bends space-time, curving paths of light rays near by.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 10 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
In Murano, a glassmaker bends over the furnace, coaxing color from fire.
—Big Think, 9 Oct. 2025
Perhaps the game bends the Chiefs’ way if fortune had smiled on Bolton on the next series, and the takeaway trend continued.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 9 Oct. 2025
The mascara comes with a flexible brush that bends to extend your lashes, and it’s formulated with bamboo extract and other ingredients that volumize and hydrate your lashes.
—Nicol Natale, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
Additionally, while the show often bends the rules of ballroom for contestants, the tour does not.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Oct. 2025
In Mulholland Drive, Harring and Watts’ magnetic, otherworldly bond bends the surrounding world, leaving it, and them, in a narcotic dream state.
—Samantha Allen, Them., 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
Stretching the limits The clip is reportedly designed to showcase Oli’s stability, joint articulation as well as movement control, through a series of exercises including side bends, leg lifts and splits.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 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
Sophisticated econometric forecasting models are bad at calling inflection points, when a lasting upward trend bends into a lasting downward one or vice versa.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 21 Sep. 2025
An Einstein Cross forms when the gravity of galaxies in the foreground bends and splits the light of a more distant galaxy into four distinct images.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 20 Sep. 2025
Day and night aren't exactly 12 hours long on the day of the equinox because the Earth's atmosphere refracts, or bends, light in an optical illusion that results in more daylight.
—Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
The fairway bends gently left, bordered by trees and water on the left side, a bunker on the right, and a second water carry into a green guarded by a large bunker on the left.
—Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The river’s bends are driven by larger-scale, longer-term phenomena — the shifting of tectonic plates, the erosion of the riverbank by plant roots, the volume of water flowing through the atmosphere and landscape, and more.
—Joseph Howlett, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bends
Verb
-
These arches pivot together around common springing points to create a 40-degree tilt in just 4 minutes.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Oct. 2025
-
The Methodist church, a white wedding cake built in 1929, was a total loss; the town’s oldest commercial building, a grand colonnaded structure from 1924, looked like the Roman Forum, arches yawning around a central void.—
Dana Goodyear,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The box set devotes a lot of time to the summer of 1963.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
27 Oct. 2025
-
The piece followed the guidelines of the city's Public Art for Neighborhoods Program, which devotes 1% of the value of its incentives to public art.—
Domenica Bongiovanni,
IndyStar,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Increment 4 program, which aims to equip smaller, faster vehicles with scalable turrets capable of tackling a range of threats.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Oct. 2025
-
This latest agreement—which includes the United Talent Agency (UTA), Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and the Association of Talent Agents—aims to create some urgency around the issue.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
It's got a wicked 27-inch QHD screen that curves perfectly around your eyeballs, which feels like your games are wrapping you up.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
14 Oct. 2025
-
In the example below, Ilkay Gundogan curves his run to prevent Alisson from passing back to Virgil van Dijk, while Victor Osimhen’s presence puts goalkeeper Alisson off passing to Ibrahima Konate or Dominik Szoboszlai.—
The Athletic UK Staff,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
This imbalance destabilizes democracy, distorts our economy, and limits human potential.—
Scott Ellis,
Time,
17 Oct. 2025
-
It was detected in a process called gravitational lensing, which involves the way its gravity distorts light passing through or near it.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
However, a new study led by La Trobe University has identified a physical trace left by dying cells that attaches to surfaces and could help direct phagocytes to the exact spot of death.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
16 Oct. 2025
-
This compact, durable waste bag dispenser easily attaches to your dog's leash, harness or your belt.—
Jessica Moore,
USA Today,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Its outstanding appeal, grandish curvatures and extraordinary interior design are just the norm for the upscale interior brand.—
Marc D. Grasso,
Boston Herald,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Posture Changes Spine curvatures can make standing up straight difficult, causing lower right back pain.—
Brandi Jones,
Health,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In Korea’s case, those economic issue include the immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia that saw hundreds of South Koreans detained; and in Japan’s by a trade deal with Washington that some analysts say tilts in the US’s favor.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The warps also mimic the tilts of the orbits of the planets in our solar system.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bends. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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