bully 1 of 3

bully

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noun

bully

3 of 3

verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word bully different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of bully are browbeat, bulldoze, cow, and intimidate. While all these words mean "to frighten into submission," bully implies intimidation through threats, insults, or aggressive behavior.

bullied into giving up their lunch money

When could browbeat be used to replace bully?

While the synonyms browbeat and bully are close in meaning, browbeat implies a cowing through arrogant, scornful, or contemptuous treatment.

browbeat the witness into a contradiction

In what contexts can bulldoze take the place of bully?

In some situations, the words bulldoze and bully are roughly equivalent. However, bulldoze implies an intimidating or an overcoming of resistance usually by urgings, demands, or threats.

bulldozed the city council into approving the plan

When might cow be a better fit than bully?

The synonyms cow and bully are sometimes interchangeable, but cow implies reduction to a state where the spirit is broken or all courage is lost.

not at all cowed by the odds against making it in show business

When is it sensible to use intimidate instead of bully?

The words intimidate and bully can be used in similar contexts, but intimidate implies inducing fear or a sense of inferiority into another.

intimidated by so many other bright freshmen

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bully
Noun
President Donald Trump is the most offensive bully and contempt-monger in the history of the U.S. presidency. Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025 While audiences watched Sheldon navigate school and its bullies, the actors behind the scenes were building impressive lives of their own. Jane Lacroix, People.com, 7 May 2025
Verb
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) accused the Trump administration on Sunday of bullying his city after the Department of Justice (DOJ) flagged it for potential racial discrimination in hiring city workers. Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 25 May 2025 In speeches and online, the American New Right likes to complain about Europeans, and occasionally bully them. Allison Schrager, Twin Cities, 25 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for bully
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bully
Adjective
  • The Seven of Pentacles is a gentle reminder that great things take time.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 June 2025
  • The story now circulating with ever greater popularity is that Jackson was an innocent bystander in the 1919 World Series fix.
    Cory Franklin, Twin Cities, 1 June 2025
Noun
  • Summit, June 10 Image So Far Gone by Jess Walter Rhys Kinnick, a journalist and a recluse, is living off the grid in the woods near Spokane, Wash., when his grandchildren are kidnapped by thugs.
    Laura Thompson, New York Times, 22 May 2025
  • Everything changes, however, when two thugs come to visit and promptly beat the ever-loving heck out of Hank at the front door.
    Emlyn Travis Published, EW.com, 21 May 2025
Verb
  • The bill was named after Trey Carlock, a Dallas native who died by suicide in 2019 at the age of 28 after being abused by a Missouri summer camp director.
    Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 May 2025
  • Two tribal nations filed a lawsuit saying that the federal government used the trust fund money of tribes to pay for boarding schools where generations of Native children were systematically abused.
    Graham Lee Brewer, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2025
Verb
  • Swatting is the criminal practice of calling law enforcement, particularly Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, to someone's house in order to harass or intimidate them.
    Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
  • As intimidating as the private equity process may be for franchisors, the jargon and statistics that are a part of everyday franchise life are just as opaque to investors.
    Patrick Galleher, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
Adjective
  • Esquivel didn’t allow an earned run in a terrific game-one performance against Lovejoy.
    Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 June 2025
  • With no wind or other elements for the players to confront, both produced some terrific tennis for stretches.
    Howard Fendrich, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2025
Noun
  • Watch Prey on Hulu Predator The original Predator movie is set in the present day (which would be 1987) and follows a paramilitary rescue team who quickly discovers that rebel forces in the South American jungle aren’t their most dangerous enemy.
    Keith Langston, People.com, 6 June 2025
  • As the resupply convoys approach the forward locations, they are frequently targeted and destroyed by enemy drones.
    Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
Noun
  • New threats emerge, including a ruthless new villain (Bill Skarsgård) and a blind assassin from Wick’s past, played by Donnie Yen in a standout performance.
    Emily Blackwood, People.com, 6 June 2025
  • Nicholas Hoult plays the film’s villain, the megalomaniac super-genius Lex Luthor.
    Jack Dunn, Variety, 5 June 2025
Verb
  • The allegation that Afrikaners were being mistreated was at the center of an executive order Trump issued days later that cut all U.S. assistance to South Africa.
    Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025
  • Two shows on Netflix last year helped inject momentum into a slow-moving legal process, and new interest in the brothers’ fate was fueled by campaigns on TikTok and other social media by younger people who felt the brothers were mistreated in the 1990s.
    Tim Arango, New York Times, 15 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bully. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.

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