| 释义 |
bent
I. \ˈbent\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English, grassy place, bent grass, from Old English beonot- (in place names); akin to Old High German binuz rush
1.
a. : unenclosed pastureland : field, moor
< curlews crying over the snow-patched bent — John Buchan >
b. archaic : hillside, slope
2.
a.
(1) : a reed, rush, or reedlike grass
< a coastline grown over with sedge and bent >
(2) : a stalk of stiff coarse grass
< his spear a bent, both stiff and strong — Michael Drayton >
b. : a beach grass (Ammophila arenaria)
c. : dogstail 1
d. or bent grass : any grass of the genus Agrostis; especially : any of several important pasture and lawn grasses that are typically perennial, rhizomatous, resistant to adverse conditions, and noted for their fine velvety or wiry herbage — see creeping bent
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from past participle of benden to bend — more at bend
1.
a. : changed by bending or being bent so as to be no longer in an original straight, level, or even condition
< a boy fishing with a bent pin >
< a bent automobile fender >
< a bent head and sloping shoulders >
b. : braced by being bent
< a bent bow >
c. : curved
< bent glass >
2.
a. : strongly inclined : resolved, determined — used with on or upon
< a country bent upon world domination >
b. : actively engaged or occupied — used with on or upon
< housewives bent on spring cleaning >
III. noun
(-s)
Etymology: from bend, v., after such pairs as English descend: descent
1. obsolete : something curved or crooked : bend
2.
a. : particular inclination or tendency : strong interest conducive to bias : bias
< the bent of his mind … was at all times much to metaphysical theology — William Wordsworth >
b. : a special and often inherent inclination, disposition, or capacity; especially : one facilitating ready and easy learning or mastery
< a decided bent for language >
3. archaic : a curved state or form : curvature
4. : capacity of endurance
< they fool me to the top of my bent — Shakespeare >
5. : a framework transverse to the length of a structure (as a trestle, bridge, or long shed) usually designed to carry lateral as well as vertical loads
Synonyms: see gift
IV. adjective
slang
1. : different from what is normal or usual: as
a. chiefly Britain : dishonest : corrupt
< a basically straight guy making it in an unrepentantly bent world — Times Literary Supplement >
b. : eccentric : crazy
< she was so bent that she's probably a woman who ought to be locked up somewhere — Robert Redford >
c. : homosexual
2. : extremely upset or angry — often used in the phrase bent out of shape |