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
Trump hasn't stopped taking cheap shots Of course, as with all bullies, Trump hasn't stopped taking cheap shots at either network. Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 18 July 2025 Incentivized by a chance to help save Mia’s father’s (Joshua Jackson) restaurant from financial ruin and face his bully at the same time, Li enters NYC’s famed Five Boroughs Karate Tournament. Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Verb
Many of them are physically and mentally bullied by the people in their lives. Kayti Burt, Time, 25 July 2025 For Jason, his reluctance to share about his love life is not so much a fear of being publicly shamed or bullied, but the imagined group chat discussions, private direct messages and Instagram investigations he may be subjected to. Kameryn Griesser, CNN Money, 22 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for bully
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bully
Adjective
  • Their actions involved great risk, and some mothers themselves were disappeared by the military.
    Graciela Mochkofsky, New Yorker, 31 July 2025
  • The data, compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, tracks fires of 1,000 acres or more in the western United States and 500 acres or greater in the eastern states.
    Ignacio Calderon, USA Today, 31 July 2025
Noun
  • The 18th Street thugs then attacked a second victim with large wooden planks, causing lacerations that required sutures.
    Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 10 July 2025
  • Plus, she wasn’t forced to live in a remote jungle compound surrounded by gun-toting thugs, because no one was coming after her.
    Sam Kelly, Time, 8 July 2025
Verb
  • According to prosecutors, Maxwell helped Jeffrey Epstein recruit, groom, and abuse minor girls from about 1994 to about 2004, including girls as young as 14 years old.
    Christopher Cann, USA Today, 25 July 2025
  • At the time of her death, Sardinha was studying to become a counselor with the hope of working with women who had been abused, her mother told Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael J. Leversen.
    Sean Emery, Oc Register, 25 July 2025
Verb
  • Goalkeepers can intimidate strikers into poor shooting decisions with a good stare-down.
    Carl Anka, New York Times, 24 July 2025
  • Cycling shoes can be intimidating—particularly the idea of wearing something that locks your feet right to your bike’s pedals.
    Jennifer Heimlich, SELF, 23 July 2025
Adjective
  • Cody Bellinger, a terrific defender, couldn’t find an Ernie Clement flyball in the lights in the sixth inning, which officially resulted in a one-out triple.
    Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 24 July 2025
  • Lugo’s future Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo was terrific again Wednesday.
    Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2025
Noun
  • They are professedly based on hunches that the enemy will attack, occupy or conquer at some future time unless the enemy is obliterated.
    Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 24 July 2025
  • Iris and Isaac’s idyll is interrupted by the enemy of all great budding romances: the truth.
    Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 23 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
  • Women are often mistreated with aggressive surgical techniques that can be avoided.
    Nkem Osian, Baltimore Sun, 23 July 2025
  • In the short term, closing the cases would allow the local governments in question to continue allegedly mistreating minority communities, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
    Jesse Coburn, ProPublica, 18 July 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bully. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on bully

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!