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Glite Dictionary
to indebt

to indebt

23 7.9
Make someone owe money or feel they must return a favour
  • verb
  • /ɪnˈdɛbt/
translation icon : endeudar
  • The charities are indebted to the community for their donations.
  • heavily indebted
  • deeply indebted
  • greatly indebted

Examples

  • For we forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

    Mary Magdalene (2018)

  • I'm indebted to you, deeply.

    Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989)

  • I will always be indebted to him for all of it.

    The Music Lovers (1971)

  • Detective Lee, I hate to admit it... ...but the United States Secret Service is indebted to you.

    Rush Hour 2 (2001)

  • Again, I'd be indebted to you, Amy.

    The Beguiled (1971)

  • I'm indebted to Danny for bringing him back to Washington safe.

    First Dog (2010)

  • Finally, we are indebted to the teachers and students who made this work possible. # Pause and Ponder #

    Academic text (2013)

  • We are indebted as well to Ana Castro for her guidance regarding Portuguese grammar.

    Academic text (2013)

  • We are indebted to Steinacher and Cymet for bringing this shameful record to the light of day.

    Academic text (2011)

  • I will always be indebted to him for all of his support.

Antonyms

to repay
75 1.7

To pay back money you borrowed

Surface Forms

indebt infinitive
indebting present participle
indebts third person singular
indebted past
indebted past participle

Morphology

indebt = debt (semi-transparent) = in + debt

While the prefix 'in-' suggests a process of causing or entering into a state, the verb form 'indebt' is not commonly used, making the transparency less clear.

Etymology

Indebt comes from the parts in- ('into') and debt ('what you owe'), so it literally means to put someone 'into' debt. That's why to indebt someone is to make them owe money or feel obliged to another person or group.