Meaning of bend someone's will | Babel Free

Definitions

To persuade or otherwise induce someone to change his or her views or to choose a different course of action.

idiomatic, transitive

Examples

“[W]hen Catherine tried to draw⟳ him to court by proposing a marriage between him and her youngest daughter Margaret, Jeanne left him at home, and went herself to court. Catherine tried in vain to bend⟳ her will.”

“[E]ven her love⟳ could not avail to bend⟳ his will. As if the hold⟳ of her arms was that of a child's he loosened it and stepped away.”

“Despite Shearer's insistence that he intends to hang⟳ up his scoring boots at the end⟳ of the season, Souness has pledged to keep⟳ pestering him to change⟳ his mind⟳. Whether the Iron⟳ Laddie is for turning remains to be seen, but the pressure to bend⟳ his will is being applied from within the Newcastle dressing-room as well as from the manager's office.”

CEFR level