English

Alternative forms

• beholding (obsolete)

Adjective

beholden ‎(not comparable)

1. Obligated to provide, display, or do something for another; indebted, obliged.

   From an early age, I had decided I wanted to be beholden to no one.

2. Bound by external expectations, such as fashion or morality.
   • 2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The Onion AV Club:

     But musical ancestry aside, the influence to which Bieber is most beholden is the current trends in pop music, which means Believe is loaded up with EDM accouterments [sic], seeking a comfortable middle ground where Bieber’s impressively refined pop-R&B croon can rub up on techno blasts and garish dubstep drops (and occasionally grind on some AutoTune, not necessarily because it needs it, but because a certain amount of robo-voice is expected these days).

Derived terms

• unbeholden

Translations