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domineer

[dom-uh-neer]
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verb (used with or without object)
  1. to rule arbitrarily or despotically; tyrannize.
  2. to tower; to tower over or above: The castle domineers the town.
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Origin of domineer

1585–95; < Dutch domineren < French dominer < Latin dominārī, equivalent to domin(us) lord + -ārī infinitive suffix
Can be confuseddominant dominate domineer (see synonym study at dominant)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

bulldoze, menace, bully, hector, intimidate, bluster, rule, bend, swagger, tyrannize, reign, preponderate, threaten, dominate, prevail, browbeat, predominate, overbear, henpeck

Examples from the Web for domineer

Historical Examples

  • Thereupon, Bismarck proceeded to domineer over the delegates.

    Blood and Iron

    John Hubert Greusel

  • The Bishop is old and meek, and Mr. Groschut thought that he could domineer.

    Is He Popenjoy?

    Anthony Trollope

  • But she had become imperious, and inclined to domineer, if not in action, yet in spirit.

    Cousin Henry

    Anthony Trollope

  • The proclivity of the natural man is to domineer or to be subservient.

  • There is no creature in the world so ready as he to domineer, to enslave, to destroy.

British Dictionary definitions for domineer

domineer

verb
  1. (intr often foll by over) to act with arrogance or tyranny; behave imperiously
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Word Origin

C16: from Dutch domineren, from French dominer to dominate
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 domineer

v.

1580s, from Dutch domineren "to rule" (16c.), from Middle French dominer, from Latin dominari "to rule, 'lord' it over" (see domination). Shakespeare's usage is not the earliest in English. Related: Domineering.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper