4 uses
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Definition
to give — typically to present as an honor or give as a gift
- Their campaign was relentless, but minor; she tried out for parts conventionally bestowed upon men; he went after the lesser women's roles—preferably nonspeaking.p. 245.2
- Even when Gravesend Academy bestowed the intellectual honor upon Pastor Merrill—of inviting him to be a frequent guest preacher in the academy's nondenominational church—Owen was critical.p. 115.6
- Until that summer, my long apprenticeship to maturity struck me as arduous and humiliating; Randy White had confiscated my fake draft card, and I wasn't yet old enough to buy beer—I wasn't independent enough to merit my own place to live, I wasn't earning enough to afford my own car, and I wasn't something enough to persuade a woman to bestow her sexual favors upon me.p. 423.4
- But the couch was at present uninviting, the result of Hester taking pity on one of Durham's stray dogs; the mutt had demonstrated its gratitude by bestowing upon Hester's living-room couch an infestation of fleas.p. 478.9
There are no more uses of "bestow" in A Prayer for Owen Meany.
Typical Usage
(best examples)