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Glite Dictionary
bent on

bent on

55 4.6
Determined to do something even if it is difficult or dangerous
  • idiom
translation icon : empeñado en
  • In that first year after treatment, I was hell bent on moving on from this experience.
  • bent on destroying
  • hell-bent on
  • seems bent on

Like they're just all bent on somehow, you know, a vendetta against him.

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Examples

  • And in fact, they are hell bent on pushing people into boxes.

  • The system must cope with a variety of emerging interest groups bent on protecting their newly won gains.

    Academic text (1997)

  • I seemed to be truly bent on saving not only New York but the world.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Most have not seen their homes in years, but their king seemed bent on conquest without end.

  • If anything, Jenny made him more bent on doing the best he could.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • But when Josh gets an idea in his head, he is hell bent on confirming said idea.

    I've Had It

  • You are hell-bent on making them live in it.

    The Awakening (2011)

  • My father was hell-bent on getting me to go to Harvard Law, like he had done when he was a kid.

    SLC Punk (1998)

  • So I'm hell bent on making this happen or they'll stop talking to me again.

  • After the promotion was denied, she was hell bent on proving her worth to the company.

Synonyms

out to
vsbent on
39 6.8

Wanting very much to do something

is often used when the aim is difficult or may be harmful
hell-bent
vsbent on
  • Informal
32 7.5

Extremely determined to do something no matter the danger or cost

is determined but not necessarily reckless or ignoring consequences
dead set
vsbent on
  • Informal
18 6.5

Firmly decided to do something or strongly against doing it

focuses on pursuing an action rather than resisting or opposing
dead set on
vsbent on
  • Informal
9 4.8

Want something very much and do not change their mind

is used more for aims that are difficult, risky, or harmful
dogged
vsbent on
1 4.7

Being very determined and refusing to give up

is about determination toward risky aims rather than long persistence

Antonyms

indifferent
46 4.4

Not interested or showing no strong feeling about something

unmotivated
8 4.4

Not feeling interest or energy to do something

How Determined

hell-bent
  • Informal
32 7.5
adamant
72 6.8
bent on
55 4.6
determined
399 2.5
willing
∞ 1.0
reluctant
247 3.5
hesitant
73 3.2

Surface Forms

bent on positive

Morphology

bent + on

The adjective 'bent' already encodes a strong, single-minded intention and the particle 'on' simply marks focus/target, so the phrase 'bent on' is a straightforward composition meaning 'determined to (do something)'. This relation is predictable and not highly idiomatic, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The phrase bent on may come from the image of a person physically bent forward, leaning on a path toward a goal as if they cannot be stopped. So, it now means 'determined to do something', often even when the plan is risky or wrong.