- present participle of domineer.
domineering
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of domineering
Explanation
Domineering describes a person who is arrogant and bossy, like a military dictator or a supervisor who micromanages everyone at work. People who are strong-willed and overbearing can be described as domineering, like customers in a restaurant who demand things with snappy fingers. Parents who say sternly to their kids, "Because I say so, that's why," are speaking in a domineering way. The word domineering comes from the Latin root dominari, "to rule or 'lord' it over."
Vocabulary lists containing domineering
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 7
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The Color of Water
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Stamped
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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.
But Roslyn Ruff, a talented actor who speaks the verse with commendable clarity, fails to imbue the character with the necessary domineering imperiousness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
At the time, the idea of crossing into the domineering English mainstream was often just a one-way deal, Times music columnist Agustin Gurza argued.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2026
"He was just so domineering and you just couldn't talk back to him," she added.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026
In a profile of Shapiro for The Atlantic, Alberta said the governor “moved between outrage and exasperation” as Alberta shared Harris’ characterizations of Shapiro as overconfident and domineering.
From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2025
But in the mind of the FBI’s domineering director, J. Edgar Hoover, they were rivals.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
