domineering

adjective

dom·​i·​neer·​ing ˌdä-mə-ˈnir-iŋ 

: inclined to exercise arbitrary and overbearing control over others

domineeringly adverb

domineeringness noun

Did you know?

To be domineering is to behave like a lord. (The word lordly doesn't express quite the same thing.) Someone who tells you what you can wear or what friends you can spend time with could be called domineering; so could someone who always decides what you're going to do with your free time. Those of us who grow up with a domineering parent usually flee as soon as we're old enough.

Synonyms

• authoritarian
• authoritative
• autocratic
• autocratical
• bossy
• despotic
• dictatorial
• imperious
• masterful
• overbearing
• peremptory
• tyrannical
• tyrannic
• tyrannous

Choose the Right Synonym for domineering

masterful, domineering, imperious, peremptory, imperative mean tending to impose one's will on others.

masterful implies a strong personality and ability to act authoritatively.

her masterful personality soon dominated the movement

domineering suggests an overbearing or arbitrary manner and an obstinate determination to enforce one's will.

children controlled by domineering parents

imperious implies a commanding nature or manner and often suggests arrogant assurance.

an imperious executive used to getting his own way

peremptory implies an abrupt dictatorial manner coupled with an unwillingness to brook disobedience or dissent.

given a peremptory dismissal

imperative implies peremptoriness arising more from the urgency of the situation than from an inherent will to dominate.

an imperative appeal for assistance

Examples of domineering in a Sentence

the younger children in the family were controlled by a domineering older sister

Recent Examples on the Web

Fans will notice a similar relationship between Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada after Andrea (Hathaway) gets a job at Runway magazine under its domineering Editor-in-Chief Miranda Priestly (Streep). —Keith Langston, Peoplemag, 6 July 2024

Carolla does not seem to miss being a mother and Arwen can find no way to introduce the subject without sounding like a domineering male. —Annie Proulx, The New Yorker, 30 June 2024

That cleverness, however, has a domineering quality. —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2024

Roy’s violent and domineering, but bad men come in other varieties, too. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1588, in the meaning defined above