beholden
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- unbeholden adjective
Etymology
Origin of beholden
1300–50; Middle English, adj. use of beholden, old past participle of behold
Explanation
The adjective beholden describes owing someone for something the person did to help you — it's your duty to repay the person. If your army buddy saves your life, you're beholden to help him when he gets injured. Being beholden to someone means more than just feeling like you owe someone for a small favor. When you're beholden, it involves a bigger feeling of responsibility, one that sticks with you — and might even weigh on you — until you're able to repay it. Some people feel so uncomfortable being beholden to others that they try not to accept assistance from anyone out of worry over what they'd have to do in return.
Vocabulary lists containing beholden
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Refugee
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Because I feel like if I've met someone and you have some sort of relationship with them, then you feel beholden in a way," he said, adding it creates a "different level of responsibility".
From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026
Writers are beholden to truth rather than any particular narrative form, and the deconstructive and interior turns in fiction have yielded great works.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
“Bread of Angels” is her story, and in choosing to write this book, she was only beholden to her own muses.
From Salon • Nov. 11, 2025
Some experts have said that Tesla’s board is beholden to Musk and does not act independently.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2025
Time is beholden to neither love nor tyrant.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
