These verbs are applied to bodily movements and denote a change from a straight, natural, or fixed position. Bend implies a folding movement of the head or body or an angular movement at a joint: to bend from the waist; to bend the elbow. Lean refers to a sloping movement away from an erect position. It implies a slant in a certain direction or a propping against a support. The leaning body or part, itself, is straight or only slightly curved, though at an angle.

• Lean back and relax; Lean your head on my shoulder; He leaned against the wall.

When bend and lean are close in meaning, bend suggests a more marked downward movement and implies greater effort, force or concentration.

• The clerk leaned over the counter; the student bent over his books.

To bow is to bend the head or upper body forwards and down: to bend over backwards; to lean sideways; to bow before the king. Bowing is a formal action, done for a symbolic rather than a practical purpose.

Bend down and pick it up; Bow down and worship.

One may bow to show reverence, respect, humility or submission: to bow before an altar; to bow the head and bend the knee in prayer. Or one may bow as a matter of custom, formal courtesy or protocol: to bow to one’s audience after performing; a bowing headwaiter; bowing diplomats. In bending over, leaning down or bowing from the waist, one lowers the body by bending the back.

To stoop is to lower the body by bending the knees: He stooped down to talk to the child on the child’s own level. Posture experts prefer stooping to bending because, in stooping , the head and torso remain upright and no strain is put on the back. In another sense, however, stoop indicates poor posture, describing a habitual forward inclination of the head and shoulders: stooped shoulders.

Turn means to move or swing part way round. It implies rotation of the head or body and refers to a change in direction.

• Turn to the left; He turned his head to look behind him; She turned to face me; Turn over; Turn round; They turned the patient on his side.

In a special sense, turn may describe a sudden inward collapse or outward wrenching of the ankle that results in a strain or sprain: She stumbled at the kerb and turned her ankle. Twist indicates a strained, contorted, or violent turning of part of the body. It suggests the muscular tension set up when one part of the body changes position while the rest remains in place.

• She twisted round in her seat, craning backwards; He twisted my arm.

Twisting may also involve a sinuous bending or winding: to twist one’s legs round a chair. Or it may suggest a constant, restless turning or squirming: He twisted and turned all night.

All these words may be used in figurative senses. Bend stresses force or flexibility, the power to subdue or the facility to yield, adapt or change: stern and unbending.

• The bent to his wishes; He bent (or bowed) them to his will.

Bow may imply a submissive yielding suggestive of a broken or servile spirit: bowed down by heavy sorrows; bloody but unbowed ; to bow and scrape. Stoop emphasizes the idea of lowering oneself by doing something that one deems degrading: I would not stoop to such methods. Lean stresses the idea of inclination, a sympathy of views that draws one in a certain direction: a moderate who leans toward conservatism. Turn calls to mind a whirling rotation. It may be used of something that makes a person giddy or that causes him to lose his sense of proportion: Compliments turned her head. Twist implies a violent turning out of the natural course and may connote distortion or deformity: to twist someone’s words; a twisted mind.