Showing Results for "intimidated"

See Also:

• past participle of intimidate.
• past tense form of intimidate.

intimidated

American  

[in-tim-i-dey-tid] / ɪnˈtɪm ɪˌdeɪ tɪd /

adjective

1. made afraid; frightened, especially by the threats or aggression of another.

   The policy, which applies to all police officers, spells out special measures to identify and protect vulnerable and intimidated witnesses.

2. timid or anxious, especially at the prospect of difficulty or risk; daunted.

   Even after the intensive six-week workshop we all attended, I felt somewhat intimidated given the scope of the task before me.

3. overawed or cowed, as through force of personality or by superior display of wealth, talent, rank, etc..

   I am not from a posh background, and felt very intimidated being in the House of Lords at Westminster.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of intimidate.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unintimidated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of intimidated

intimidate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

When a person has been threatened and made to feel timid, he becomes intimidated. You might be intimidated by a large barking dog, a mean boss, or a pair of skinny jeans you'd love to fit into. The adjective intimidated is derived from the similarly spelled Latin intimidare, meaning “to frighten." Notice within both the English adjective and Latin root another adjective timid, “fearful.” That should help you remember the meaning. Maya Angelou said, “Education helps one cease being intimidated by strange situations.” When you are familiar with something, it becomes less frightful. Synonyms for intimidated include afraid and daunted.

Example Sentences

"I get intimidated socially sometimes, I think, by people, but generally, when I step on set, I'm good," he said.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

Recent moves also have intimidated the stock market as longer-dated Treasury yields approached levels last seen in 2007 and an index of global bond yields traded at the highest levels since 2008, according to Bloomberg.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

So the Lakers are facing long odds to win this series, but they say they aren’t intimidated heading into Game 1 on Tuesday night.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2026

Estrosi, who is a vocal supporter of Israel and whose wife is Jewish, denounced the act as despicable and said he wouldn’t be intimidated.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026

She should have been intimidated by him and at the same time shown deep concern for her missing friend.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan