Bully (Verb)
Meaning 1
Be bossy towards; "Her big brother always bullied her when she was young".
Classification
Verbs of feeling.
Examples
- She bullied her little sister into letting her have the last cookie.
- He was uncomfortable around his older sister who still bullied him at family gatherings.
- Their boss bullied the new intern into doing all the unwanted tasks.
- Her older brother bullied her when they were young, but they're close friends now.
- They complained about their sister who bullied them for most of their childhood.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
Meaning 2
Discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate.
Classification
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing.
Examples
- The teacher refused to let the older kids bully the younger ones on the playground.
- He stood up to the man who tried to bully him in the bar.
- She felt powerless as her neighbour tried to bully her into selling her property.
- They accused the company of using strong-arm tactics to bully local businesses into merging.
- The politician was known for his habit of trying to bully his opponents during debates.