bully

[bool-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bully ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural bul·lies.

a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people.

Archaic. a man hired to do violence.

Obsolete. a pimp; procurer.

Obsolete. good friend; good fellow.

Obsolete. sweetheart; darling.

verb (used with object), bul·lied, bul·ly·ing.

to act the bully toward; intimidate; domineer.

verb (used without object), bul·lied, bul·ly·ing.

to be loudly arrogant and overbearing.

adjective

Informal. fine; excellent; very good.

dashing; jovial; high-spirited.

interjection

Informal. good! well done!

Origin of bully

First recorded in 1530–40, bully is from the Middle Dutch word boele lover

Related formsbul·ly·a·ble, adjectiveun·bul·lied, adjectiveun·bul·ly·ing, adjective

Synonyms for bully

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bully ON THESAURUS.COM

6. cow, browbeat, coerce; terrorize, tyrannize.

bully

[boo l-ee]

noun

bully beef.

Origin of bully

1865–70; < French bouilli, short for boeuf bouilli boiled meat. See boil¹, beef

bully

[boo l-ee]

noun, plural bul·lies.

Soccer. a desperate, freewheeling scramble for the ball by a number of players, usually in the goal area.

Field Hockey. a method of putting the ball into play in which two opponents, facing each other, tap their sticks on the ground near the ball and then make contact with each other's sticks over the ball three times, after which each tries to gain possession of the ball.

Origin of bully

First recorded in 1860–65; of obscure origin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bully

oppressor, rascal, terrorize, torture, hector, bludgeon, coerce, harass, torment, persecute, threaten, oppress, browbeat, ruffian, tough, tease, rowdy, bulldozer, pest, persecutor

Examples from the Web for bully

Contemporary Examples of bully

UNO puts such an onus on smoking students that it ultimately seems like a bully, even more than a nanny.
The University Of New Orleans’ Cigarette Ban Is Total BS
Chloé Valdary
October 21, 2014
And when we have been spared such tragedy, it has happened precisely because presidents have stood up to the bully caucus.
Please—Let's Not Destroy ISIS
Michael Tomasky
September 15, 2014
But as a true anti-bullying champion will tell you, a bully is no less a bully simply because his victim seeks to excuse him.
Ray Rice Should Have Remembered His 'Kindness' Anti-Bullying Wristband
Michael Daly
September 10, 2014
Or maybe even one on each wrist, both reading “I AM A BULLY.”
Ray Rice Should Have Remembered His 'Kindness' Anti-Bullying Wristband
Michael Daly
September 10, 2014
If I am elected, then I will have power and the ability to ‘bully’ Republicans, as you say.
Dem Candidate: GOP Worse Than ISIS
Olivia Nuzzi
September 7, 2014

Historical Examples of bully

"The professor made a bully speech," said more than one after the exercises were over.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
I have seen enough of you to know that you are a bully and coward.
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens
It was now that Globson, Bully no more, sought me out in the playground.
The Uncommercial Traveller
Charles Dickens
And so it is with me, bully boy, saving that my doxy cometh not.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Howard Pyle
Straight up to the bully he walked and looked him firmly in the eye.
The Widow O'Callaghan's Boys
Gulielma Zollinger

British Dictionary definitions for bully

bully

noun plural -lies

a person who hurts, persecutes, or intimidates weaker people

archaic a hired ruffian

obsolete a procurer; pimp

obsolete a fine fellow or friend

obsolete a sweetheart; darling

verb -lies, -lying or -lied

(when tr , often foll by into) to hurt, intimidate, or persecute (a weaker or smaller person), esp to make him do something

adjective

dashing; jollymy bully boy

informal very good; fine

interjection

Also: bully for you informal well done! bravo!

Word Origin for bully

C16 (in the sense: sweetheart, hence fine fellow, hence swaggering coward): probably from Middle Dutch boele lover, from Middle High German buole, perhaps childish variant of bruoder brother

bully

noun plural -lies

any of various small freshwater fishes of the genera Gobiomorphus and Philynodon of New ZealandAlso called (NZ): pakoko, titarakura, toitoi

Word Origin for bully

C20: short for cockabully

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 bully

1530s, originally "sweetheart," applied to either sex, from Dutch boel "lover; brother," probably a diminutive of Middle Dutch broeder "brother" (cf. Middle High German buole "brother," source of German Buhle "lover;" see brother (n.)).

Meaning deteriorated 17c. through "fine fellow" and "blusterer" to "harasser of the weak" (1680s, from bully-ruffian, 1650s). Perhaps this was by influence of bull (n.1), but a connecting sense between "lover" and "ruffian" may be in "protector of a prostitute," which was one sense of bully (though not specifically attested until 1706). The expression meaning "worthy, jolly, admirable" (especially in 1864 U.S. slang bully for you!) is first attested 1680s, and preserves an earlier, positive sense of the word.

1710, from bully (n.). Related: Bullied; bullying.