intimidate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
intimidates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
intimidated,
past participle, past
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intimidating
present participle
verb
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to make timid or frightened; scare
-
to discourage, restrain, or silence illegally or unscrupulously, as by threats or blackmail
Synonym Usage
See discourage.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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intimidatesimple
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intimidatessimple
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have intimidatedperfect
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has intimidatedperfect
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am intimidatingprogressive
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are intimidatingprogressive
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is intimidatingprogressive
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have been intimidatingperfect progressive
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has been intimidatingperfect progressive
Past
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intimidatedsimple
-
had intimidatedperfect
-
was intimidatingprogressive
-
were intimidatingprogressive
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had been intimidatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of intimidate
First recorded in 1640–50; from Medieval Latin intimidātus, past participle of intimidāre “to make afraid,” equivalent to Latin in- verb-formative prefix + timid(us) “afraid” + -ātus past participle suffix; see in- 2, timid, -ate 1
Explanation
You can see "timid" in the middle of intimidate, and to be timid is to be frightened or to pull back from something. When you intimidate, you frighten or make someone afraid. A pet rat might intimidate your sister's friends, keeping them out of your fort. "To frighten" or "make fearful" is at the root of the verb intimidate. An animal might intimidate a smaller animal by bearing its teeth, and a person can intimidate another by threatening to do something harmful. You can be intimidated with mental or emotional bullying, as well as with something physical: "they were all good spellers, but some of them knew how to intimidate the competition into thinking they didn't have a chance at winning the spelling bee."
Vocabulary lists containing intimidate
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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The Breadwinner
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Twelve Angry Men
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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.
See Examples For:
The jury accepted the prosecution's case that Robinson had hired detectives to "intimidate" the journalists.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
"What the regime wants is to intimidate, silence and frighten society through such pressure -- by arresting individual journalists, seizing media outlets, banning news coverage and blocking access to social media," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
New research has documented how honey bees chase, displace, and intimidate rival insects, providing the first detailed evidence of how extensively they interfere with other species' access to food.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
They will observe and report any attempt to intimidate voters or poll workers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
Four days later, on Election Day, Anthony opened her newspaper and read another article intended to intimidate her and the other women.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Offering a lot to process—historically, technically and visually—“Sèvres Extraordinaire!” is that rare species of exhibition that impresses and intimidates in equal measure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2025
Second, and crucially, it intimidates opponents into silence and quiescence.
From Slate ● Dec. 6, 2024
“We’ve seen that this system suppresses and intimidates the majority of children,” said Salwa Duaibis, co-founder of Military Court Watch, a Palestinian legal advocacy group.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 5, 2023
I find it so fascinating when people are baking like, "Baking intimidates me, baking scares me, so many steps, numbers, math, science, da da, da, da, da."
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2023
To be honest, something about the big houses intimidates me, and I’m already nervous.
From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Jane Doe, surrounded by larger men, felt intimidated and unable to leave.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
Often high school graduates with learning needs can “feel too intimidated and overwhelmed to apply for college” and others, including adults, “may be unaware that community college is even an option.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
They added: "We refuse to be intimidated by those whose actions we believe are being taken in bad faith and with the intent to profit from the life of someone who willingly gave so much."
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Luckily I went after I mainly finished writing the book because otherwise I would have been so intimidated by the physical manifestation of how much Christie means to people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
At the age of 24, Gene Nora hadn't been out of college long, and she was a little intimidated by her 40-year-old partner.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
Despite its intimidating size, Vasuki probably was not a particularly fast or agile hunter.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Law enforcement often coordinates with election officials to keep officials and voters safe without their presence intimidating voters, he said.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
“The prospect of having to do all of that alone can be very intimidating for women” who are also dealing with trauma and rebuilding their lives, Messenger said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court overturned Thursday a presidential pardon granted to a hardline Buddhist monk and ordered him to serve the remainder of a six-year prison sentence for intimidating the wife of a missing cartoonist.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
It was no longer sweet and melodic but menacing and intimidating.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
