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hound

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word hound distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of hound are badger, bait, chivy, heckle, and hector. While all these words mean "to harass by efforts to break down," hound implies unrelenting pursuit and harassing.

hounded by creditors

When could badger be used to replace hound?

The words badger and hound can be used in similar contexts, but badger implies pestering so as to drive a person to confusion or frenzy.

badgered her father for a car

Where would bait be a reasonable alternative to hound?

While the synonyms bait and hound are close in meaning, bait implies wanton cruelty or delight in persecuting a helpless victim.

baited the chained dog

When is it sensible to use chivy instead of hound?

Although the words chivy and hound have much in common, chivy suggests persecution by teasing or nagging.

chivied the new student mercilessly

In what contexts can heckle take the place of hound?

The words heckle and hound are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, heckle implies persistent annoying or belligerent interruptions of a speaker.

drunks heckled the stand-up comic

When can hector be used instead of hound?

While in some cases nearly identical to hound, hector carries an implication of bullying and domineering.

football players hectored by their coach

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 hound
Noun
When dead animals start showing up around town, a superstitious ferryman claims he’s seen the Mansfield girls shapeshift into feral hounds. Shannon Carlin, Time, 22 May 2025 There’s something amusing about using a high-powered car for mundane family tasks, or seeing the family hound’s slobbery jowls pressed against the rear screen as his owner blew off yet another sports car at the lights. Ben Oliver, Robb Report, 23 Apr. 2025
Verb
There was no moment in the tournament that better captured the spirit of football and its role as an emotional release valve than when every member of the squad hounded Gray. Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 8 July 2025 His longtime chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, allegedly hounded an InterContinental Hotel security guard until Combs successfully secured footage of Combs attacking Ventura in March 2016. Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 26 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for hound
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hound
Noun
  • Responding officers found the dog, and advised the owner to take the dog in.
    cleveland, cleveland, 13 Sep. 2023
  • According to LifeLine, the DeKalb shelter takes in 135 dogs a week on average.
    Jim Gaines, ajc, 13 Sep. 2023
Noun
  • On the hunt for the key to a country music lover’s heart?
    Ramal Nasim July 25, Kansas City Star, 25 July 2025
  • Beach lovers should check out Britannia Beach and then continue to drive north towards Sea to Sky Gondola.
    Miriam Porter, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
Noun
  • In 1994, Hogan joined WCW and reinvented himself as a villain, forming the New World Order (nWo) and ushering in a new era of edgy storytelling.
    Hannah Parry Amanda Castro Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025
  • The film is currently filming in London with Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors behind the highest-grossing MCU movies ever, back behind the camera; Downey now playing the chief villain; and a slew of stars from the lost era of Fox's X-Men movies reprising their roles for the first time in years.
    EW.com, EW.com, 24 July 2025
Verb
  • The song is a tribute to musical nomads who chase the impulses of a song around the globe.
    Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 14 July 2025
  • An ax-wielding stranger initially mistaken for a delivery driver chased a woman into her home, then led deputies on a 13-mile chase, a California sheriff’s office reported.
    Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 14 July 2025
Verb
  • Residents are urged to exercise caution, stay hydrated, and be aware of the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
    Joyce Orlando, The Tennessean, 22 July 2025
  • Donald Trump has also publicly stated his opposition to breaking encrypted communications, publicly urging the prime minister Kier Starmer not to introduce such measures.
    Barry Collins, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025
Noun
  • Like these rich men, Luthor embraces his villainy by styling himself as a sleek anti-hero and lording his privilege over the rest of society’s suckers.
    Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 16 July 2025
  • Check the main vine and secondary shoot regularly for new suckers and remove them promptly.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 5 July 2025
Noun
  • King's polo playing husband, Bill Mitchell — who went on to become a director for Texaco — became the model for Daisy’s rich brute of a husband, Tom Buchanan.
    Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 5 June 2025
  • This freshly re-imagined Jag is worlds apart from that old German brute, but was similar in the sense of feeling wonderfully light and responsive, and utilizing hydraulic fluid to power its steering.
    Peter Nelson, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
Noun
  • No, the worst Christopher Reeve Superman film is not the embarrassing Cannon Films installment but rather the one featuring a world-class comedian, a woman turning into a computer, and a terrific junkyard battle between Clark Kent and his belligerent jerk doppelganger.
    Rory Doherty, Vulture, 11 July 2025
  • Midtown Global Market’s Irie Jamaican serves oxtail (jerk or barbecue) with festival (a sweet, fried bread); sweet plantains; coconut shrimp skewers; and a ginger and hibiscus drink.
    Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 9 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hound.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hound. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.

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