hell-bent
See also: hellbent
English
WOTD – 17 April 2021
Etymology
From hell (“in a manner that uses all of the strength, speed, or effort that a person can summon”) + bent (“determined, insistent”),[1] that is, in the sense “determined like hell”.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ˈhɛlˌbɛnt/
Audio (RP) (file)
Adjective
hell-bent (comparative more hell-bent, superlative most hell-bent)
- (originally US, informal, transitive with on) Recklessly determined to do or achieve (something).
- Synonym: dead set
- He was hell-bent on coming first, no matter what.
- 1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 16:
- If somebody had asked me why I was so hell-bent on grabbing a piece of Penny Hardwick's chest, I wouldn't have known what to say. And if somebody were to ask Penny why she was so hell-bent on stopping me, I'll bet she'd be stumped for an answer too.
- 2023 September 26, Sam Jones, “Spain elections: Feijóo launches doomed bid to lead country”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
- The PP has seized on the possibility of an amnesty to rally support and to portray the PSOE leader as craven, dependent on Catalan separatists and hellbent on remaining in office.
Derived terms
- hellbender (possibly)
- hell-bent for leather
Translations
recklessly determined to do or achieve something
|
Adverb
hell-bent (comparative more hell-bent, superlative most hell-bent)
- (originally US, informal) In a recklessly determined manner; determinedly, wholeheartedly.
Translations
References
- “hell-bent, adj. and adv.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2020; “hell-bent, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.