Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Curved or angled; not straight: Describes something, particularly a part of the body like the back or knees, that is in a bent or flexed position.
   • In a posture of submission or reverence: Often used in the fixed phrase "on bended knee(s)" to describe a traditional posture of deep respect, supplication, or proposal.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • He stood with bended back after hours of working in the field.
  • The knight approached the king on bended knee.
  • She listened intently, her head tilted in a bended posture.

Advanced Usage

• "on bended knee": In a kneeling position, typically to show deep respect, to beg, or to propose marriage.
  • He asked for her forgiveness on bended knee.
  • The tradition of proposing on bended knee is still common.

Variants and Related Words

• Bend (verb): To curve or flex something from a straight line.
  • Bend the wire into a circle.
• Bent (adjective): The more common past participle of "bend" used as an adjective.
  • He picked up the coin with a bent back. (Note: "bent" is more frequent in general use than "bended" in modern English.)

Synonyms

• Stooped: Bent forward and downward.
• Kneeling: In a position where the body is supported by the knees.
• Flexed: Bent.

Notes on Usage

• "Bended" is an archaic form. In contemporary English, "bent" is the standard past tense, past participle, and adjective form of the verb "to bend."
• The word "bended" survives almost exclusively in the fixed idiomatic phrase "on bended knee." Even in this phrase, "on bent knee" is also acceptable, though less traditional.
• Using "bended" outside of this fixed phrase (e.g., "a bended pipe") sounds old-fashioned or poetic.

Adjective

1. used of the back and knees; stooped
   • on bended knee
   • with bent (or bended) back