beholden
English
editAlternative forms
edit- beholding (obsolete)
Etymology
editFrom Middle English beholden, from Old English behealdan. Cognate with behold in the otherwise unrecorded sense “bound”.
Pronunciation
edit- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /bɪˈhəʊldən/
- (General American) IPA(key): /bɪˈhoʊldən/
- Rhymes: -əʊldən
- Hyphenation: be‧hol‧den
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Adjective
editbeholden (not comparable)
- (usually with 'to') Obligated to provide, display, or do something for another; indebted, obliged.
- From an early age, I had decided I wanted to be beholden to no one.
- 2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The A.V. Club[1], archived from the original on 6 August 2020:
- But musical ancestry aside, the influence to which [Justin] Bieber is most beholden is the current trends in pop music, which means Believe is loaded up with EDM accouterments, seeking a comfortable middle ground where Bieber’s impressively refined pop-R&B croon can rub up on techno blasts and garish dubstep drops (and occasionally grind on some AutoTune, not necessarily because it needs it, but because a certain amount of robo-voice is expected these days).
- 2017 January 14, “Thailand's new king rejects the army's proposed constitution”, in The Economist[2]:
- There is much to dislike about the proposed constitution, which will keep elected governments beholden to a senate nominated by the junta and to a suite of meddling committees.
Derived terms
editTranslations
editobligated, bound by moral obligation
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Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
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- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
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- Rhymes:English/əʊldən/3 syllables
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- English adjectives ending in -en