Meaning & use

browbeat

verb·Advanced

To intimidate or bully someone into doing something through persistent, forceful pressure.

See it in a sentence

The manager tried to browbeat the intern into working through the weekend.

His opponent tried to browbeat him with aggressive courtroom tactics, but he refused to back down.

A note on using this word

Past tense is 'browbeat' or 'browbeaten'; the word carries a strongly negative, coercive tone.

Words with a similar meaning

bullyintimidate

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

encouragepersuade

Make it your own

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