intimidating

American  

[in-tim-i-dey-ting] / ɪnˈtɪm ɪˌdeɪ tɪŋ /

adjective

1. Sometimes intimidatory intended to frighten someone or to force or stop someone’s action through fear.

   We will not be sucked in to your macho agenda by intimidating threats of violence or seductive promises of power.

2. causing timidity, hesitancy, or anxiety, especially because of difficulty or risk; daunting.

   The day-to-day operations of the healthcare environment can be overwhelming and intimidating to the point of paralysis.

3. causing someone to feel overawed or cowed, as through force of personality or superior display of wealth, talent, rank, etc..

   All the others had gone to Harvard or Yale, and I was just a country hick; it was intimidating, for sure.

---

Other Word Forms

• unintimidating adjective

Etymology

Origin of intimidating

intimidat(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Several people who worked with Foa suggested she could be intimidating and sometimes disparaging to people she worked with.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

This posture likely helped them reach leaves high in trees and may have made them look larger and more intimidating to predators.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

Spades can be extremely intimidating to start as a beginner playing with pros.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

When you break it down and spread the $400,000 across your lifetime, the inheritance should be more realistic and less stressful or intimidating.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 12, 2026

Festooned with equations and numbers, it was intimidating to read, even for experts.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• aggressive
• frightening
• terrifying