indebted

[in-det-id]

adjective

1. committed or obligated to repay a monetary loan.

   He was indebted to his friend for a large sum.

   Synonyms: bound

2. obligated for favors or kindness received.

   He was indebted to her for nursing him through pneumonia.

   Synonyms: grateful, beholden

indebted

/ ɪnˈdɛtɪd /

adjective

1. owing gratitude for help, favours, etc; obligated

2. owing money

Other Word Forms

• preindebted adjective
• preindebtedness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of indebted¹

1175–1225; in- ² + debt + -ed ²; replacing Middle English endetted < Old French endetté, past participle of endetter to involve in debt ( en- ¹ )

Example Sentences

Escalating the saga, Marineland announced it was "fully indebted and rapidly running out of resources to provide adequate care for the whales."

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Its vision is deeply indebted to collaborating organizer and former powerhouse downtown dealer Mary Boone, and as such offers a specific, which is to say necessarily limited, outlook on the arts scene.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Instead it lends, lends, lends—to economies already so heavily indebted that they lurch from one fiscal and financial crisis to the next.

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After the new issuance, Oracle’s outstanding debt load surpassed $100 billion, making it the most indebted big tech company with an investment-grade rating.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Oracle, which is angling to be the go-to computing provider for labs like OpenAI, is by far the most indebted tech giant in the mix.

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Related Words

• appreciative 
• beholden 
• duty-bound 
• grateful 
• obligated 
• obliged 
• thankful