bully 1 of 3

bully

2 of 3

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
All of whom flock to Monsignor Wicks, drawn by his sophistry and fearsome bully-pulpit magnetism. Damon Wise, Deadline, 6 Sep. 2025 Anthony Bourdain is presented as a self-hating bully. Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
Newsrooms — like many other companies, amid a tight labor market and booming economy — responded with intense sympathy for junior employees who felt mistreated by managers and bullied by untouchable stars. Max Tani, semafor.com, 8 Sep. 2025 Jordan Love and the offense scored on their first three possessions, and from there the Packers bullied a Lions team that won 14 games and earned the NFC’s top seed last year. Zak Keefer, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bully
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bully
Adjective
  • Yet his work does demand greater attention.
    Mark Holgate, Vogue, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Europe staged one of the greatest comebacks in Ryder Cup history, winning eight matches and halving another to clinch the Cup by half a point.
    Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • All the while, Sarah is being hunted by corporate intimidators Dawson (Sam Worthington) and Rosetti (Willa Fitzgerald), who want to ensure her silence.
    EW.com, EW.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • We’re then introduced to Louie, a thug who works for a loan shark, threatening and killing people.
    Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Their neighbor, an older Jewish woman, gets arrested and Nazi thugs brazenly loot her apartment.
    Rabih Alameddine September 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The Commission said Google’s market power has been abused since 2014.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Moore previously served as the defense attorney for Louise and David Turpin, the California couple who abused and imprisoned their 13 children and dependent adults in a 'house of horrors' for years.
    Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Assaults by the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club are often committed in order to protect and expand territory, intimidate rivals, conceal members from law enforcement and advance extracurricular criminal projects, according to the 2024 indictment.
    Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Meanwhile, the President can use the National Guard to intimidate blue-state citizens, and no one can stop him; a mogul can shield billions in income from tax; and voters can find their districts redrawn overnight.
    Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The film captures Gilmour and his terrific backing band in concert at Rome’s historic Circus Maximus near the start of the Luck and Strange tour.
    Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2025
  • But those poor souls would be missing out on a terrific whiskey that really deserves to be enjoyed.
    Tony Sachs, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Under orders from General Erinmore (Colin Firth), the pair must traverse enemy lines to deliver a life-or-death message to Colonel Mackenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch), halting an attack that would endanger more than 1,000 men.
    Emy LaCroix, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The enemy terrorizes and kills our people across the country every day.
    David Brennan, ABC News, 7 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Vineland’s repressive villain Brock Vond ends ferried to hell by two Eastside vatos locos, while the hippie father Zoyd reunites with his daughter at an anarchist family picnic.
    John Lopez, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
  • There are villains in every episode and the story uses them to showcase some societal issues.
    Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bully. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.

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