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browbeat
VERB:

1. to intimidate by overbearing looks or words; bully:
They browbeat him into agreeing.

2. to discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate.

3. to intimidate or disconcert by a stern manner or arrogant speech : bully:
likes to browbeat the waitstaff.

More Examples:

His father likes to browbeat waiters and waitresses. // They would often browbeat the younger child until he cried.

Related Words:

bully, hector, intimidate, coerce, harass, oppress, badger, cow, frighten, bludgeon, tyrannize, threaten, bulldoze, bluster, domineer, overawe, dragoon, overbear.

Synonyms:

badger, blackjack, bogart, bulldoze, bully, bullyrag, coerce, cow, harass, hector, intimidate, mau-mau, strong-arm, tyrannize.

Synonym Study:

Intimidate, cow, bulldoze, bully, and browbeat mean to frighten into submission.

Intimidate implies inducing fear or a sense of inferiority into another:
intimidated by so many other bright freshmen.

Cow implies reduction to a state where the spirit is broken or all courage is lost:
not at all cowed by the odds against making it in show business.

Bulldoze implies an intimidating or an overcoming of resistance usually by urgings, demands, or threats:
bulldozed the city council into approving the plan.

Bully implies intimidation through threats, insults, or aggressive behavior:
bullied into giving up their lunch money.

Browbeat implies a cowing through arrogant, scornful, or contemptuous treatment:
browbeat the witness into a contradiction.

Origin:

First recorded in 1575–85; brow + beat. —Dictionary.com. // First Known Use of browbeat: 1581. —Merriam-Webster.

Sources: 1, 2.

added: 22 may 2020 1:20pm
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