as in bully
a person who teases, threatens, or hurts smaller, weaker, or more vulnerable persons
law penalizing debt collection agencies that operate like hectors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to intimidate
to make timid or fearful by or as if by threats
the judge warned the attorney that hectoring the witness with aggressive questioning would not be allowed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hector
The Economist, 18 July 2017
Trump’s proposals to match China’s import fees and to hector companies into keeping jobs in the United States represent a huge threat to the mercantilist Asian economic model.
—Joel Kotkin, Orange County Register, 2 Apr. 2017
Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2024
Greengrass’s attempts to wrap a political statement up in Bourne clothing is awkward and jarring, and the movie is more preachy and hectoring than particularly enlightening.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 9 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hector
Noun
THE young woman with the microphone cajoles, hectors and wheedles customers with the breathless enthusiasm of a livestock auctioneer at a county fair.
—The Economist, 18 July 2017
Trump’s proposals to match China’s import fees and to hector companies into keeping jobs in the United States represent a huge threat to the mercantilist Asian economic model.
—Joel Kotkin, Orange County Register, 2 Apr. 2017
Verb
Since then, Obama and the Party have lost the hectoring tone.
—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2024
Greengrass’s attempts to wrap a political statement up in Bourne clothing is awkward and jarring, and the movie is more preachy and hectoring than particularly enlightening.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 9 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hector
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hector
Noun
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To the latter, watching Shauna blankly absorb an update about her daughter dumping a bag of animal guts onto a bully at school is both amusing and frustrating.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
18 Feb. 2025
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And unlike so many bullies, Falfa gets his comeuppance in the end.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
18 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Antonio Reyes, a 21-year-old police say shot and killed six people as a teenager, is behind bars but remains a terror, intimidating guards and attempting to kill fellow inmates.—
Michael Loria,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
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But, after an eight-year hiatus, teeing off in front of people was intimidating.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Republicans are comparably less inclined to see it as an enemy than are Americans overall.—
Anthony Salvanto,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2025
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Cozzi, from Rush University Medical Center, described the MMR vaccine as a shield and measles as an enemy trying to pierce the shield with arrows.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
1 Mar. 2025
Verb
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On the streets, conservative protesters, frightened that the left could win the next election, have rallied to Yoon.—
ROBERT E. KELLY,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Feb. 2025
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That frightened stray kitten forgot her fears and moved up on that ball of paper and batted it across the floor and then batted it again.—
Carole Wendt,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to hector
Cite this Entry
“Hector.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hector. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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