Meaning & use

Bents

noun·Academic

Last updated

The plural of "bent," referring to natural inclinations, talents, or tendencies that a person possesses.

See it in a sentence

Teachers try to nurture each student's individual bents rather than forcing one path on everyone.

His artistic and mathematical bents seemed, to his family, an unlikely combination.

A note on using this word

"Bents" can also refer, in a very different technical sense, to transverse structural frames in bridges and buildings, or to a type of wild grass; context determines which meaning applies.

Words with a similar meaning

inclinationsaptitudespropensities

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Another way to use it

2. noun

A genus or type of grass, especially bent grass, common on lawns and golf greens.

The green was seeded with a fine, low-growing bent grass.

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