browbeat

[brou-beet]

verb (used with object), brow·beat, brow·beat·en, brow·beat·ing.

to intimidate by overbearing looks or words; bully: They browbeat him into agreeing.

Origin of browbeat

First recorded in 1575–85; brow + beat

Related formsbrow·beat·er, noun

Synonyms for browbeat

cow, badger, tyrannize, harass, coerce.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for browbeating

bully, hector, intimidate, coerce, harass, oppress, badger, cow, frighten, bludgeon, tyrannize, threaten, bulldoze, bluster, domineer, overawe, dragoon, overbear

Examples from the Web for browbeating

Contemporary Examples of browbeating

Instead, they till a middle ground, choosing to teach by example rather than by browbeating.
If You Grow Up Indian-American, College Graduation Isn’t Enough
Anita Raghavan
May 31, 2013

Historical Examples of browbeating

It was Elfride's first fragile attempt at browbeating a lover.
A Pair of Blue Eyes
Thomas Hardy
What in hell do you mean by browbeating my nurse and forcing yourself in here!
The Lost Despatch
Natalie Sumner Lincoln
Say what you please, the time for browbeating, scaring me is gone.
Deering of Deal
Latta Griswold
The Watertown men must soon have recovered from the browbeating he had given them.
A Source Book in American History to 1787
Various
Where the South cannot effect her object by browbeating, she wheedles.
Charles Sumner; his complete works, volume 6 (of 20)
Charles Sumner

British Dictionary definitions for browbeating

browbeat

verb -beats, -beating, -beat or -beaten

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

Derived Formsbrowbeater, noun

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

Word Origin and History for browbeating

browbeat

"to bully," originally "to bear down with stern or arrogant looks," 1580s, from brow + beat (v.).

[I]t appears from the earliest quotations ... that the brow in question was that of the beater, not of the beaten party; but it is not evident whether the meaning was 'to beat with one's (frowning) brows,' or 'to beat (?lower) one's brows at.' [OED]

Related: Browbeaten; browbeating.