beholden

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English

WOTD – 10 February 2016

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English beholden, from Old English behealdan. Cognate with behold in the otherwise unrecorded sense “bound”.

Pronunciation

Adjective

beholden (not comparable)

  1. (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, 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:
      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

Translations

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