as in browbeating
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Dissimilar Words
as in intimidating
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 hectoring
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
31 Dec. 2025
Sure, there's the hectoring of Federal Reserve officials, Chairman Jerome Powell and Governor Lisa Cook, and the attempt by the president to make the central bank another appendage of the White House.
—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
18 Sep. 2025
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
14 May 2026
Perhaps more meaningfully, the message is the antithesis of a contrived political pitch or a hectoring sermon.
—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
26 Feb. 2026
Dealing with the hectoring racket of New York fans may well have prepared him to withstand the noise of the Super Bowl.
—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
Imagine if Clooney had chosen to use his star power to spotlight a genuinely worthy project — the way, say, Sarah Paulson did with Appropriate or Keanu Reeves is doing with Waiting For Godot — rather than the stuffy, moribund, on-the-nose hectoring that was Good Night, and Good Luck?
—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
31 Dec. 2025
Sure, there's the hectoring of Federal Reserve officials, Chairman Jerome Powell and Governor Lisa Cook, and the attempt by the president to make the central bank another appendage of the White House.
—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
Pratt was just another angry New Yorker hectoring calumnies against all forms of authority.
—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
14 May 2026
Perhaps more meaningfully, the message is the antithesis of a contrived political pitch or a hectoring sermon.
—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
26 Feb. 2026
Dealing with the hectoring racket of New York fans may well have prepared him to withstand the noise of the Super Bowl.
—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hectoring
Noun
-
The figure was disclosed in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Deadline, which also revealed that the BBC was probing a further four cases of bullying and harassment, taking the total tally of live investigations to nine.
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By March that year, Moseley was reinstated to his position after a third-party investigation did not find evidence that substantiated the bullying claims.
Verb
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The masks are often vibrant and colorful but sometimes intimidating, depicting superheroes, animals or other symbolic figures.
-
Superior Court Judge Alex Manning issued the order June 15 prohibiting the county’s top administrator from getting close to Amit Mehrotra, a neighbor in the Ellard subdivision in Roswell, and from harassing or intimidating Mehrotra or his family.
Noun
-
Outside, the ceaseless roar of jackhammering and bulldozing went on as the ballroom, challenged by lawsuits and protected by that titanium fencing, took shape.
-
After Douglas, Miami picked up a 6-5 1/2, 261-pound bulldozing blocking tight end in Kacmarek, who can be an asset in paving holes in the run game.
Verb
-
His process of doing so involved disparaging his accusers, browbeating people and institutions that no longer wanted to be associated with him, and refusing to accept a path that precluded a return to being a public figure.
-
Analysts have suggested a vote from Waller in favor of interest rate cuts, aligning with the president’s browbeating demands for lower borrowing costs—could be seen as a bellwether for his candidacy.
Noun
-
In Texas, ranchers are bracing for an onslaught of screwworms, the flesh-eating maggots of blowflies.
-
Torres lamented that the nation’s landmark semiquincentennial comes amid a fever pitch of anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States, marked by a rise in xenophobia and an onslaught of attempts to restrict newcomers here and abroad.
Noun
-
Like Alito’s paisanes, my Mexican family was also demonized for supposedly being insufficiently American and posing a threat to national unity.
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Such a bond occurs when a judge grants a compassionate release for inmates who are in failing health and no longer a threat to the community.
Noun
-
Fourteen minutes into the game, midfielder Jhon Arias drove a cross from winger Luis Suarez into the right corner of the net to give Colombia a 1-0 lead and send Pais MX into a frenzy.
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As the first week of the knockout rounds comes to a close, the soccer frenzy is translating into a short-term rental boom, with locals cashing in by renting out their homes.
Noun
-
The Declaration of Independence, often perceived as a tax revolt, explicitly mentions taxes only once among its 27 grievances, dedicating just eight words to the issue.
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Soon, this kind of spirit will carry the 13 colonies to protest, revolt and win the American Revolution.
Cite this Entry
“Hectoring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hectoring. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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