intimidation
Americannoun
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the act of inducing fear or awe.
The true motive of most street harassment is intimidation.
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the act or process of attempting to force or deter an action by inducing fear.
She spoke passionately about the violence and intimidation suffered by African Americans in Mississippi seeking to register to vote.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of intimidation
Explanation
Intimidation is when you try to frighten a weaker person into doing what you want. You might use intimidation to get your brother to mow the lawn for you. Intimidation can refer to the act of making someone feel timid or afraid — like what you sometimes do to your brother — or it can also refer to that fearful feeling itself. Intimidation might make members of a jury hesitate to convict a defendant. Intimidation can also refer to feeling threatened, discouraged, or afraid because you're facing something stronger or superior. You might feel a sense of intimidation right before your soccer team plays the undefeated state champs.
Vocabulary lists containing intimidation
"The Hill We Climb," by Amanda Gorman
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Cesar Chavez's Commonwealth Club Address (1984)
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Because They Marched
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In Michigan, Chin’s killing inspired the 1988 Ethnic Intimidation Act, which was sponsored by a Jewish state lawmaker, David Honigman from West Bloomfield Township.
From Salon • May 29, 2025
"Intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China," he added.
From BBC • Mar. 5, 2025
Intimidation isn’t something I’ve felt in a dispensary setting for a very long time.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2022
To criminalize online voter suppression, Congress should consider the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act.
From Slate • Jun. 1, 2021
It was all part of the rite, all part of the image, all part of the Intimidation Trip.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
