browbeat

American

[brou-beet] / ˈbraʊˌbit /

verb (used with object)

browbeat, browbeaten, browbeating

to intimidate by overbearing looks or words; bully.

They browbeat him into agreeing.

Synonyms:

coerce, harass, tyrannize, badger, cow

browbeat British

/ ˈbraʊˌbiːt /

verb

(tr) to discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

browbeater noun

Etymology

Origin of browbeat

First recorded in 1575–85; brow + beat

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.

But when things started to get "really crazy", she browbeat her parents into coming with her.

From BBC • Feb. 15, 2025

But blunt rhetoric is often used only to browbeat others and distort facts.

From Salon • Jun. 8, 2023

“Attorney General Garland is my constituent, and I don’t browbeat my constituents,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

From Washington Times • Jun. 12, 2022

Let’s do some good, and let’s resist the temptation to browbeat those around us into doing good better.

From Slate • Aug. 24, 2021

“I hope you don’t think we’re gonna browbeat our students to please you’all,” she said.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023