intimidate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
-
to make timid or frightened; scare
-
to discourage, restrain, or silence illegally or unscrupulously, as by threats or blackmail
Related Words
See discourage.
Other Word Forms
- intimidating adjective
- intimidation noun
- intimidator noun
- intimidatory adjective
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; in- 2, timid, -ate 1
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.
Mr. Nolte’s voice is so frail and thin that he’s difficult to understand in the role; he hardly seems like the sort of intimidating figure he’s meant to be.
When Julia Child burst onto American television in the early 1960s, French cooking—in fact, any kind of international cuisine—felt intimidating to most home cooks.
"Multiple foreign regimes are monitoring, harassing and intimidating members of our diaspora communities," he said.
From Barron's
She added: "We are providing record funding for security at synagogues, Jewish schools and community centres. I will go further to strengthen police powers so they can crack down on intimidating protests."
From BBC
The world was so intimidatingly large, but a single book had connected it for him.
From Literature
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.
