bow – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of bow

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to bow
Participle: bowed
Gerund: bowing

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Ibow
youbow
he;she;itbows
webow
youbow
theybow

Perfect

Ihave bowed
youhave bowed
he;she;ithas bowed
wehave bowed
youhave bowed
theyhave bowed

Past

Ibowed
youbowed
he;she;itbowed
webowed
youbowed
theybowed

Pluperfect

Ihad bowed
youhad bowed
he;she;ithad bowed
wehad bowed
youhad bowed
theyhad bowed

Future

Iwill bow
youwill bow
he;she;itwill bow
wewill bow
youwill bow
theywill bow

Future Perfect

Iwill have bowed
youwill have bowed
he;she;itwill have bowed
wewill have bowed
youwill have bowed
theywill have bowed

Subjunctive

Present

Ibow
youbow
he;she;itbow
webow
youbow
theybow

Perfect

Ihave bowed
youhave bowed
he;she;ithave bowed
wehave bowed
youhave bowed
theyhave bowed

Imperfect

Ibowed
youbowed
he;she;itbowed
webowed
youbowed
theybowed

Pluperfect

Ihad bowed
youhad bowed
he;she;ithad bowed
wehad bowed
youhad bowed
theyhad bowed

Conditional

Present

Iwould bow
youwould bow
he;she;itwould bow
wewould bow
youwould bow
theywould bow

Perfect

Iwould have bowed
youwould have bowed
he;she;itwould have bowed
wewould have bowed
youwould have bowed
theywould have bowed

Imperative

youbow
weLet's bow
youbow

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam bowing
youare bowing
he;she;itis bowing
weare bowing
youare bowing
theyare bowing

Perfect

Ihave been bowing
youhave been bowing
he;she;ithas been bowing
wehave been bowing
youhave been bowing
theyhave been bowing

Past

Iwas bowing
youwere bowing
he;she;itwas bowing
wewere bowing
youwere bowing
theywere bowing

Pluperfect

Ihad been bowing
youhad been bowing
he;she;ithad been bowing
wehad been bowing
youhad been bowing
theyhad been bowing

Future

Iwill be bowing
youwill be bowing
he;she;itwill be bowing
wewill be bowing
youwill be bowing
theywill be bowing

Future Perfect

Iwill have been bowing
youwill have been bowing
he;she;itwill have been bowing
wewill have been bowing
youwill have been bowing
theywill have been bowing

Conditional

Present

Iwould be bowing
youwould be bowing
he;she;itwould be bowing
wewould be bowing
youwould be bowing
theywould be bowing

Perfect

Iwould have been bowing
youwould have been bowing
he;she;itwould have been bowing
wewould have been bowing
youwould have been bowing
theywould have been bowing

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'bow'

abandon, abduct, abear, aberr, abject, abord, abort, abound, abraid, abray, abrook, abscind, abscond, absist, absorb, abstain, abstract, accend, accent, accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)

Verbs similar to 'bow'

blow, bob, bog, boo, bop, bot, bowe, bowl, box, boy,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

to cause something to change its shape into a curve
bend, courb, crook, curb, curl, curve, flex, incurvate
incline
bend, dip, stoop, bob
yield
submit, surrender, acquiesce, capitulate
subdue
compel, crush, depress
bend
curve, inflect, buckle

Antonyms

yield
clash, counteract, counter, impede
subdue
strengthen, fortify, empower, exalt
bend
straighten, stiffen, extend, stand

Additional Information

Etymology

1. O.E. bugan "to bend, to bend the body in condescension," also "to turn back" (class II strong verb; past tense beag, pp. bogen), from P.Gmc. *bugon (cf. M.L.G. bugen, O.H.G. biogan, Goth. biugan "to bend," O.N. boginn "bent"), from *beugen, from PIE base *bheugh- (cf. Skt. bhujati "bends, thrusts aside"). The noun is first recorded 1656. Bow out "withdraw" is from 1942.
2. From Middle English bowe, from Old English boga, Proto-West Germanic *bogō, from Proto-Germanic *bugô.
3. Cognates
4. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Booge (“arch, bow, curve”), West Frisian bôge (“arc, arch, bow”), Dutch boog (“arc, arch, bow”), German Bogen (“arc, arch, bow, curve”), Luxembourgish Bou (“arc, arch, bow, curve”), Vilamovian böga (“arc, arch, bend, bow, curve”), Yiddish בויגן (boygn, “arc, arch, bow, curve”), Danish bue (“arc, arch, bow, curve”), Faroese and Icelandic bogi (“arch, bow, vault”), Jamtish buga (“bow”), Norwegian Bokmål bue (“arc, arch, bow”), Norwegian Nynorsk boge (“arc, arch, bow”), Swedish båge (“bow”), Crimean Gothic boga (“bow”). See: Frisian, Saterlandic 'Booge', German, old spelling 'Bogen', Wymysorys 'böga', Danish 'bue', Norwegian 'bue', Norwegian, nynorsk 'boge', Swedish 'båge'.

Verbs referencing "bow"

Danish bue, Scots boo, Luxembourgish béien.

Sample Sentences

  • [...] my visits, and to permit my wife and family to reside here; for which it is hardly necessary to say, we are much indebted to her. She is exceedingly courteous, you perceive, ’ on this hint she bowed condescendingly, ‘and will permit me to have the pleasure of introducing you: a gentleman from England, Ma’am: newly arrived from England, after a very tempestuous passage: Mr. Dickens,—the lady of [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • “ I beg pardon, ma’am, ” said Haley, bowing slightly, with a still lowering brow; “ but still I say, as I said before, this yer's a sing’lar report. Is it true, sir ? ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] systematic arrangements, when St. Clare turned round from paying the hackman, there was nobody in view but Mr. Adolph himself, conspicuous in satin vest, gold guard-chain, and white pants, and bowing with inexpressible grace and suavity. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] the lips of Tom and Mammy, and some of the elder ones, who belonged to the Methodist church. The younger and more thoughtless ones, for the time completely overcome, were sobbing, with their heads bowed upon their knees. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] St. Clare suddenly raised himself up. The honest face, so full of grief, and with such an imploring expression of affection and sympathy, struck his master. He laid his hand on Tom 's, and bowed down his forehead on it. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • In the very depth of physical suffering, bowed by brutal oppression, this question shot a gleam of joy and triumph through Tom's soul. He suddenly stretched himself up, and, looking earnestly to heaven, while the tears and blood that flowed down [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • Just then the door opened, and Sambo entered. He came forward, bowing, and holding out something in a paper. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)