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2 ADJ [ADJ n] Benevolent is used in the names of some organizations that give money and help to people who need it. [BRIT ] □  …the Army Benevolent Fund.

Ben|ga|li /beŋgɔː li/ (Bengalis )

1 ADJ Bengali means belonging or relating to Bengal, or to its people or language. □  She married a Bengali doctor.

2 N‑COUNT A Bengali is a person who comes from Bangladesh or West Bengal.

3 N‑UNCOUNT Bengali is the language that is spoken by people who live in Bangladesh and by many people in West Bengal.

be|night|ed /b I na I t I d/ ADJ [ADJ n] If you describe people or the place where they live as benighted , you think they are unfortunate or do not know anything. [LITERARY , DISAPPROVAL ] □  Famine hit that benighted country once more.

be|nign /b I na I n/

1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use benign to describe someone who is kind, gentle, and harmless. □  They are normally a more benign audience. ●  be|nign|ly ADV [usu ADV with v] □  I just smiled benignly and stood back.

2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A benign substance or process does not have any harmful effects. □  We're taking relatively benign medicines and we're turning them into poisons.

3 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A benign tumour will not cause death or serious harm. [MEDICAL ] □  It wasn't cancer, only a benign tumour.

4 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Benign conditions are pleasant or make it easy for something to happen. □  They enjoyed an especially benign climate.

bent /be nt/

1Bent is the past tense and past participle of bend .

2 ADJ If an object is bent , it is damaged and no longer has its correct shape. □  The trees were all bent and twisted from the wind.

3 ADJ If a person is bent , their body has become curved because of old age or disease. [WRITTEN ] □  …a bent, frail, old man.

4 ADJ If someone is bent on doing something, especially something harmful, they are determined to do it. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [+ on/upon ] He's bent on suicide.

5 N‑SING If you have a bent for something, you have a natural ability to do it or a natural interest in it. □ [+ for ] His bent for natural history directed him towards his first job.

6 N‑SING [adj N ] If someone is of a particular bent , they hold a particular set of beliefs. □  …economists of a socialist bent.

7 ADJ If you say that someone in a position of responsibility is bent , you mean that they are dishonest or do illegal things. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □  …this bent accountant.

8 PHRASE If someone is bent double , the top part of their body is leaning forward towards their legs, usually because they are in great pain or because they are laughing a lot. In American English, you can also say that someone is bent over double . □ [+ with/in ] He left the courtroom on the first day bent double with stomach pain.

ben|zene /be nziːn/ N‑UNCOUNT Benzene is a clear, colourless liquid which is used to make plastics.

be|queath /b I kwiː ð/ (bequeaths , bequeathing , bequeathed )

1 VERB If you bequeath your money or property to someone, you legally state that they should have it when you die. [FORMAL ] □ [V n + to ] He bequeathed all his silver to his children.

2 VERB If you bequeath an idea or system, you leave it for other people to use or develop. [FORMAL ] □ [V n n] He bequeaths his successor an economy that is doing quite well. □ [V n + to ] It is true that colonialism did not bequeath much to Africa. [Also V n]

be|quest /b I kwe st/ (bequests ) N‑COUNT A bequest is money or property which you legally leave to someone when you die. □  The church here was left a bequest to hire doctors who would work amongst the poor.

be|rate /b I re I t/ (berates , berating , berated ) VERB If you berate someone, you speak to them angrily about something they have done wrong. [FORMAL ] □ [V n + for ] Marion berated Joe for the noise he made. [Also V n]