beholden

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.

The military said it refused to be beholden to a corporation and pushed back, labeling Anthropic a threat akin to an enemy foreign power and blocking it from some government contracts.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

"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

As someone who didn’t cut his teeth through a specific offensive or defensive system, Harbaugh was never beholden to one.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026

Chu is beholden to those pesky “Wizard of Oz” tie-ins at every turn, and Erivo and Grande get few chances to utilize their lovely chemistry.

From Salon • Nov. 21, 2025

But she had sixty varieties of roses, and most everybody in Cold Sassy was beholden to her for nursing a relative back to health or laying out the body for burial.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns