bent on

Idioms  

1. Also, bent upon. Determined, resolved, as in Jamie is bent on winning the math prize. This phrase, first recorded in 1762, always uses the past participle of the verb bend in the sense of “tend toward.”

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Example Sentences

"The future belongs to those who innovate, and Israel and India are bent on innovation," Netanyahu said on Thursday, standing next to Modi.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

Nostalgia, though, is a peril that the author, an art historian at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, is bent on warding off.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

We are left now with two parties who seem bent on nothing short of mutually assured professional destruction, and if that's their goal, Baldoni and Lively are doing great.

From Salon • Apr. 15, 2025

On the eve of training camp, with the apparent possibility that Stafford might not report, the Rams bent on some level to his demands.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2025

Enrique has spent forty-seven days bent on nothing but surviving.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario