Beholden
adjective
Owing thanks or having duty to someone because of favors or help.
She was beholden to him for saving her life.
Often appears as...
- beholden to someone
- beholden for something
Usage tips
Formal
adjective
Owing thanks or having duty to someone because of favors or help.
She was beholden to him for saving her life.
Often appears as...
- beholden to someone
- beholden for something
Usage tips
Formal
Definition 1 of 1
Pro Tip 1/3Positive Obligation
Beholden implies a positive feeling of being obliged, not a legal or negative duty.
After the support during hard times, she felt warmly beholden to her mentor.
Pro Tip 2/3Gratitude Implied
Using 'beholden' suggests a sense of gratitude towards the person who helped.
He was beholden to his neighbor for watering his plants while he was away.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Financial Debt
'Beholden' is less about financial debt and more about moral or social obligations.
Although she repaid the loan, she remained beholden to her friend for the generosity shown.
Pro Tip 1/3Positive Obligation
Beholden implies a positive feeling of being obliged, not a legal or negative duty.
After the support during hard times, she felt warmly beholden to her mentor.
Pro Tip 2/3Gratitude Implied
Using 'beholden' suggests a sense of gratitude towards the person who helped.
He was beholden to his neighbor for watering his plants while he was away.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Financial Debt
'Beholden' is less about financial debt and more about moral or social obligations.
Although she repaid the loan, she remained beholden to her friend for the generosity shown.
Pro Tip 1/3Positive Obligation
Beholden implies a positive feeling of being obliged, not a legal or negative duty.
After the support during hard times, she felt warmly beholden to her mentor.
Pro Tip 2/3Gratitude Implied
Using 'beholden' suggests a sense of gratitude towards the person who helped.
He was beholden to his neighbor for watering his plants while he was away.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Financial Debt
'Beholden' is less about financial debt and more about moral or social obligations.
Although she repaid the loan, she remained beholden to her friend for the generosity shown.
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Video examples
How to Discover Your...
my big brother, Gerry, and she married my dad, but she kept her maiden name. And then she had my sister Stephanie and I back-to-back, but she continued to work because she refused to be beholden to my dad for money. And I bet my mom was the only woman in our neighborhood who cooked once a week.
Video examples
Is invisibility the...
reformist president who is beholden to a sclerotic and obstructionist legislature so the the infighting has already begun and it's actually a little bit ugly but the fighting has not and in a country
Video examples
Storytellers Summit Day...
power plant being built there in collaboration with India because we had beholden to India so you know while we we owe a lot to India for our independence the fact that you know we
Video examples
How to Discover Your...
my big brother, Gerry, and she married my dad, but she kept her maiden name. And then she had my sister Stephanie and I back-to-back, but she continued to work because she refused to be beholden to my dad for money. And I bet my mom was the only woman in our neighborhood who cooked once a week.
Video examples
Is invisibility the...
reformist president who is beholden to a sclerotic and obstructionist legislature so the the infighting has already begun and it's actually a little bit ugly but the fighting has not and in a country
Video examples
Storytellers Summit Day...
power plant being built there in collaboration with India because we had beholden to India so you know while we we owe a lot to India for our independence the fact that you know we
Example 1 of 3
Quote examples
Josh Fox
American Director
Independent documentary isn't beholden to some of the interests that the mainstream media are influenced by. It's a pathway to renegade, independent reporting in an in-depth, investigative fashion, and it can do so with a compassionate lens; it allows people to speak in a way that is more human than the mainstream media approach.
Quote examples
Jon Richardson
English Comedian
When you're single, you're not beholden to anyone, and you can shut down more easily. In the past, I had the idea that I'd live in a caravan with a dog near a pub with no responsibilities. But now, when bad things happen in the world, I feel responsible for them because they're going to impact on my daughter.
Quote examples
Ma Jun
Chinese Environmentalist
Environmental agencies in China are hamstrung by local officials who put economic growth ahead of environmental protection; even the courts are beholden to local officials, and they are not open to environmental litigation.
Quote examples
Leslie Jamison
American Novelist
I completely identify with finding freedom in boundaries. That's why I tend to have more freedom when I write nonfiction over fiction: because I'm running up against actuality and beholden to the truth in a different way.
Quote examples
Daniel Woodrell
American Writer
I learned my values. It's better to be poor than to be beholden. Wealth is not the object of life. You should be polite as long as possible, and when you can't be polite anymore, don't run.
Quote examples
Tammy Duckworth
I feel like moderate Republicans, who would support sensible gun violence legislation, are pushed aside by those folks who are absolutely beholden to the NRA.
Quote examples
Francis Bacon
English Philosopher
We are much beholden to Machiavel and others, that write what men do, and not what they ought to do.
Quote examples
James May
English Journalist
I'm not beholden to anyone. I'm not waiting for a pension or a carriage clock.
Quote examples
Joe Sestak
American Politician
I'm not beholden to one party or any special interests.
Quote examples
Rob Liefeld
American Writer
We can't be beholden to the past.
Quote examples
Josh Fox
American Director
Independent documentary isn't beholden to some of the interests that the mainstream media are influenced by. It's a pathway to renegade, independent reporting in an in-depth, investigative fashion, and it can do so with a compassionate lens; it allows people to speak in a way that is more human than the mainstream media approach.
Quote examples
Jon Richardson
English Comedian
When you're single, you're not beholden to anyone, and you can shut down more easily. In the past, I had the idea that I'd live in a caravan with a dog near a pub with no responsibilities. But now, when bad things happen in the world, I feel responsible for them because they're going to impact on my daughter.
Quote examples
Ma Jun
Chinese Environmentalist
Environmental agencies in China are hamstrung by local officials who put economic growth ahead of environmental protection; even the courts are beholden to local officials, and they are not open to environmental litigation.
Quote examples
Leslie Jamison
American Novelist
I completely identify with finding freedom in boundaries. That's why I tend to have more freedom when I write nonfiction over fiction: because I'm running up against actuality and beholden to the truth in a different way.
Quote examples
Daniel Woodrell
American Writer
I learned my values. It's better to be poor than to be beholden. Wealth is not the object of life. You should be polite as long as possible, and when you can't be polite anymore, don't run.
Quote examples
Tammy Duckworth
I feel like moderate Republicans, who would support sensible gun violence legislation, are pushed aside by those folks who are absolutely beholden to the NRA.
Quote examples
Francis Bacon
English Philosopher
We are much beholden to Machiavel and others, that write what men do, and not what they ought to do.
Quote examples
James May
English Journalist
I'm not beholden to anyone. I'm not waiting for a pension or a carriage clock.
Quote examples
Joe Sestak
American Politician
I'm not beholden to one party or any special interests.
Quote examples
Rob Liefeld
American Writer
We can't be beholden to the past.
Example 1 of 10
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