1. [n]  a special way of doing something; "he had a bent for it"; "he had a special knack for getting into trouble"; "he couldn't get the hang of it"
2. [n]  a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way; "the set of his mind was obvious"
3. [n]  grass for pastures and lawns especially bowling and putting greens
4. [adj]  used especially of the head or upper back; "a bent head and sloping shoulders"
5. [adj]  used of the back and knees; stooped; "on bended knee"; "with bent (or bended) back"
6. [adj]  of metal e.g.; "bent nails"; "a car with a crumpled front end"; "dented fenders"
7. [adj]  fixed in your purpose; "bent on going to the theater"; "dead set against intervening"; "out to win every event"
8. [adj]  altered from an originally straight condition; "a bent wire"

Bent
Martin Sherman`s worldwide hit play Bent took London by storm in 1979 when it was first performed by the Royal Court Theatre, with Ian McKellen as Max (a character written with the actor in mind). The play itself caused an uproar. It educated the world , Sherman explains. People knew about how the Third Reich treated Jews and, to some extent, gypsies and political prisoners. But very little had come out about their treatment of homosexuals . Gays were arrested and interned at work camps prior to the genocide of Jews, gypsies, and handicapped, and continued to be imprisoned even after the fall of the Third Reich and liberation of the camps. The play Bent highlights the reason why -- a largely ignored German law, Paragraph 175, making homosexuality a criminal offense, which Hitler reactivated and strengthened during his rise to power. Critics` reactions to the play ranged from exuberant to, in Sherman`s words, appalled, shocked frightened. A few of them were gay, but they didn`t want to see this kind of thing on stage . Audiences, on the other hand, would regularly respond with, at first, stunned silence. But then, would rise and scream and yell and it was pandemonium . In 1980, the play was produced on Broadway to equal acclaim, starring Richard Gere. It has continued to be produced in every sort of venue: major theatres, regional theatres, universities, even high schools. And in at least 38 countries. Bent has not only been one of the great plays of our time, but one of the most socially monumental. It is sure to continue to move and change people for generations to come.

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1. \Bent\,
   imp. & p. p. of {Bend}.
   

2. \Bent\, a. & p. p.
   1. Changed by pressure so as to be no longer straight;
      crooked; as, a bent pin; a bent lever.
   2. Strongly inclined toward something, so as to be resolved,
      determined, set, etc.; -- said of the mind, character,
      disposition, desires, etc., and used with on; as, to be
      bent on going to college; he is bent on mischief.
   

3. \Bent\, n. [See {Bend}, n. & v.]
   1. The state of being curved, crooked, or inclined from a
      straight line; flexure; curvity; as, the bent of a bow.
      [Obs.] --Wilkins.
   2. A declivity or slope, as of a hill. [R.] --Dryden.
   3. A leaning or bias; proclivity; tendency of mind;
      inclination; disposition; purpose; aim. --Shak.
            With a native bent did good pursue.   --Dryden.
   4. Particular direction or tendency; flexion; course.
            Bents and turns of the matter.        --Locke.
   5. (Carp.) A transverse frame of a framed structure.
   6. Tension; force of acting; energy; impetus. [Archaic]
            The full bent and stress of the soul. --Norris.
   Syn: Predilection; turn.
   Usage: {Bent}, {Bias}, {Inclination}, {Prepossession}. These
          words agree in describing a permanent influence upon
          the mind which tends to decide its actions. Bent
          denotes a fixed tendency of the mind in a given
          direction. It is the widest of these terms, and
          applies to the will, the intellect, and the
          affections, taken conjointly; as, the whole bent of
          his character was toward evil practices. Bias is
          literally a weight fixed on one side of a ball used in
          bowling, and causing it to swerve from a straight
          course. Used figuratively, bias applies particularly
          to the judgment, and denotes something which acts with
          a permanent force on the character through that
          faculty; as, the bias of early education, early
          habits, etc. Inclination is an excited state of desire
          or appetency; as, a strong inclination to the study of
          the law. Prepossession is a mingled state of feeling
          and opinion in respect to some person or subject,
          which has laid hold of and occupied the mind previous
          to inquiry. The word is commonly used in a good sense,
          an unfavorable impression of this kind being
          denominated a prejudice. ``Strong minds will be
          strongly bent, and usually labor under a strong bias;
          but there is no mind so weak and powerless as not to
          have its inclinations, and none so guarded as to be
          without its prepossessions.'' --Crabb.
   

4. \Bent\, n. [AS. beonet; akin to OHG. pinuz, G. binse, rush,
   bent grass; of unknown origin.]
   1. A reedlike grass; a stalk of stiff, coarse grass.
            His spear a bent, both stiff and strong. --Drayton.
   2. (Bot.) A grass of the genus {Agrostis}, esp. {Agrostis
      vulgaris}, or redtop. The name is also used of many other
      grasses, esp. in America.
   3. Any neglected field or broken ground; a common; a moor.
      [Obs.] --Wright.
            Bowmen bickered upon the bent.        --Chevy Chase.