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.
“He’s aware of his position in the world. He lives by himself and he’s gay and he’s been unhappy in love. He’s inquisitive and he’s domineering — I can sort of relate to that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
In fact he is the opposite — a domineering strongman who seeks to bully everyone around him into compliance.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2026
The actor was shown to no less domineering effect in The Great Santini, playing a frustrated Marine pilot who hectors and browbeats his teenage children.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
Helen, the oldest sibling, is a domineering homemaker who has appointed herself keeper of the family recipes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
Even now, as he sits there fiddling with some kind of plastic box, he's easily ignored in the presence of his large and domineering companions.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
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.
