browbeat

See also: brow-beat

English

WOTD – 12 January 2008

Alternative forms

Etymology

brow + beat

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA(key): /ˈbɹaʊ.biːt/
  • (file)
  • (file)

Verb

browbeat (third-person singular simple present browbeats, present participle browbeating, simple past browbeat, past participle browbeaten)

  1. (transitive) To bully in an intimidating, bossy, or supercilious way.
    Synonyms: bully, cow, domineer, intimidate; see also Thesaurus:intimidate
    Though the teacher browbeat all the children, they still acted out during the lesson.
    • 1993 November 28, Carol Muske, quoting Dudley Fitts, “Laura Riding Roughshod”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
      Dudley Fitts reared far back, pronouncing her [Laura Riding] with “few equals” when it came to “browbeating an audience into conviction by sheer force of arrogance, among any poets living or dead.”

Translations

References

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