as in cowed
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variants
or browbeat
as in intimidated
to make timid or fearful by or as if by threats
they would often browbeat the younger child until he cried
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of browbeaten
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
Not to the extent that the user is necessarily being browbeaten.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Davies more or less browbeat her into terminating the pregnancy, and dropped out of college.
—Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
The administration’s apparent plan to resolve this difficulty is to shame or browbeat members of the artistic community into performing there.
—Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 30 Dec. 2025
Not to mention the relentless White House campaign to browbeat Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower rates while auditioning dovish successors.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 16 Aug. 2025
Some of them used that stage to browbeat Democratic politicians.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2025
But analysts have said Trump’s aggressive campaign to browbeat Powell into backing rate cuts could jeopardize the Fed’s autonomy and unnerve markets.
—Paul Davidson, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Audiences who endured the Miramax era have been browbeaten to believe that the best picture Oscar should go to a period piece that chokes out a sob from audiences.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
Not to the extent that the user is necessarily being browbeaten.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Verb
But that bar was browbeaten by critics into pausing and then canceling the project.
—Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Davies more or less browbeat her into terminating the pregnancy, and dropped out of college.
—Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
The administration’s apparent plan to resolve this difficulty is to shame or browbeat members of the artistic community into performing there.
—Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 30 Dec. 2025
Not to mention the relentless White House campaign to browbeat Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower rates while auditioning dovish successors.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 16 Aug. 2025
Some of them used that stage to browbeat Democratic politicians.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2025
But analysts have said Trump’s aggressive campaign to browbeat Powell into backing rate cuts could jeopardize the Fed’s autonomy and unnerve markets.
—Paul Davidson, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for browbeaten
Adjective
-
In traditional settings, people often feel rushed, intimidated, and unseen.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 May 2026
-
You may be used to texting and Snapchat, and may feel intimidated to talk to clients one-on-one on a call.—
Heather Kelly,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
With Ethan Hawke's newbie simmering against the go-for-broke finesse of Denzel Washington's very bad, no-good officer, Training Day revels in tension, with washes of blue and green augmenting scenes where Hawke is bullied into getting high.—
Eric Farwell,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 June 2026
-
In 2019, Teresa and Gia shared that then-9-year-old Audriana was bullied at school because of her father.—
Jamie Ballard,
PEOPLE,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
The Irish were the original oppressed people from the English Empire, and the original colony.—
Dan Adler,
Vanity Fair,
15 May 2026
-
The body pointed to the fact that Iran’s Farabi cinema body, which oversees the country’s submission, was directly controlled by the hardline Islamic Republic regime government, which in turn has suppressed freedom of speech and brutally oppressed filmmakers across its 47 years in power.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
Dolma told me that when the wind turbines were being built, their noise frightened her livestock and carried across the valley, disturbing neighbors during windy times.—
Sanggay Tashi,
The Conversation,
11 June 2026
-
Hunters often lit blazing fires, which disoriented and frightened the elk, and as many animals as possible were killed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
Consumers from both countries grew fed up with their economies in 2022, and those sentiment reports have remained downtrodden.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
-
And the dejected diehard of a downtrodden franchise isn’t truly stuck in a one-sided detrimental relationship.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
The scientists only got a passing glimpse of the goblin shark before the lights and loud noise from the ROV's motor scared it away, Auscavitch told ABC News.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
12 June 2026
-
Just as Jenner passed by, DeGeneres suddenly popped out from her hiding place and scared the 70-year-old reality star.—
Kathleen Perricone,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
Lab testing showed that the candies had no illicit substances in them, but the waxy substance was found to contain THC and the crushed pills allegedly contained cocaine and fentanyl, state police wrote.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
13 June 2026
-
Pour into a glass filled with crushed ice.—
Claudia Alarcón,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
Then came a scathing letter from Sorsby's attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, who also threatened to sue the Big 12 conference, on behalf of Texas Tech, if there were any punishments handed down by the conference.—
Trey Wallace,
FOXNews.com,
16 June 2026
-
The plan is a direct result of South Africa’s crippling electricity crisis, which peaked between 2023 and 2023 when record-breaking rolling blackouts threatened economic collapse.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
15 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Browbeaten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/browbeaten. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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