Showing results for "intimidating"

• present participle of intimidate.

intimidating

American  

[in-tim-i-day-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.

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Other Word Forms

• unintimidating
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of intimidating

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

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Explanation

Someone or something that causes fear is intimidating. Bullies are intimidating. Anyone or anything that is fearsome, daunting, or terrifying could be called intimidating. Looking at a huge list of vocabulary words is intimidating. Any difficult job can be intimidating. Lots of people find public speaking intimidating. Climbing into the mouth of a volcano and trying to take a photograph for National Geographic would be extremely intimidating, because you could die, and if you don't, what if your pictures aren't that good?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

intimidating

Later she wonders if her literary success is too intimidating, and whether it is realistic to insist on an intellectual and emotional equal, a man to whom she will be “twinned in some cosmic way.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

Staffers interviewed in the film say they noticed that Holmes never blinked, which they found unusual and somewhat intimidating.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

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

“One foot in my home constitutes trespassing!” he belts, trying to sound much more intimidating than he really is.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

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Related Words

• aggressive
• frightening
• terrifying

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