bend

n.

bend

v.

1. To force out of a straight line

   twist, turn, curve, warp, arch, round, crimp, flex, pervert, spiral, camber, coil, crinkle, curl, buckle, crook, bow, wind, incline, contort, deflect, deform, double, loop, twine, refract, angle, hook.

   Antonyms straighten*, stiffen*, support*. *

2. To be forced out of a straight line

   stoop, lean, buckle, bow, turn, zigzag, crumple, meander, circle, swerve, diverge, deviate, detour, veer, droop, angle off, angle away, wilt, sag, hunch, give; see also sense 1, bow 1, deviate, turn 6, veer.

   Antonyms stand up, extend*, straighten. *

3. To influence

   direct, persuade, mold; see change 1, influence.

4. To yield

   submit, accede, give in; see yield 1.

bend refers to the curving or crooking of something that is normally straight but that yields to pressure or tension to bend a wire; twist, in this connection, implies greater resistance in the object to be bent and often connotes a wrenching out of the normal line to twist one's arm; turn, in this comparison, suggests a change in direction, as a curving back of an object upon itself to turn the sheet back; curve suggests a swerving or deflection in a line that follows or approximates the arc of a circle he curved the next pitch