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browbeaten 1 of 2

adjective

as in cowed

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browbeaten

2 of 2

verb

variants or browbeat
past participle of 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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of browbeaten
Adjective
At times during the inquiry hearings, the nurses were almost browbeaten into accepting the inquiry’s premise. — Rachel Aviv, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026 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
The son and a guardian claims that Mary Max had depleted his finances and browbeat him. — Beth J. Harpaz The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026 The son and a guardian alleged that Mary Max had depleted his finances and browbeat him. — ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026 Pheu Thai, conservatives believed, could always be co-opted or browbeaten into a politics of benefit sharing in which wealth and power were divided between a Pheu Thai figurehead and conservative power brokers. — Duncan McCargo, Foreign Affairs, 24 Aug. 2026 Dodgers management didn’t browbeat Treinen and Call, and that’s fine — ballplayers should be entitled to share their personal thoughts, however noxious. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026 No need to legally browbeat AI makers or require AI developers to implement specialized AI safety features. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026 England looked cowed and browbeaten by the second half of the semifinal, which allowed Lionel Messi to do what only Lionel Messi can do. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 16 July 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for browbeaten
  1. intimidated
  2. bullied
  3. oppressed
  4. frightened
  5. downtrodden
  6. scared
  7. crushed
  8. threatened
Adjective
  • Romania's Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism accused Andrew Tate of having sex with two minors and alleged that Tristan Tate helped his brother and intimidated victims.
    — Bill Chappell, NPR, 9 Sep. 2026
  • The biggest hurdle, though, is simply believing the Elle Woods who learns to prove her doubters wrong at 16 would be so intimidated when faced with doing it again at 22.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 29 June 2026
Definition of intimidated
Verb
  • His descriptions of being bullied in high school for his sexuality resemble plotlines from Very Special Episodes of TV, and his relationship with his ailing father is similarly generic.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Yes, Stark has painted, or, more accurately, anodized, powder-coated, and otherwise bullied into submission just about everything to black.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of bullied
Adjective
  • The aching reality of life for oppressed Black people is never explicitly referred to.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
  • All of us artists could stand to be more like Mark, willing to speak out for oppressed people everywhere, even when powerful people try to bully us into silence.
    — Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of oppressed
Verb
  • Last Friday, the artist Pink published a lengthy criticism of Macklemore’s on-stage polemic, writing that his comments and use of violent wartime imagery had frightened many Jewish people, including her.
    — Caitlin Dewey, Vox, 16 Sep. 2026
  • However, Stone told Bialik that she was not frightened by the encounter.
    — Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of frightened
Adjective
  • Living a dozen miles from their closest neighbor (who has a grudge with Lester), even further from the closest town (a downtrodden shell of its former self), and further still from any sort of hope — or temptation.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2026
  • In the end, a downtrodden Sporting side came close to picking up an upset win but settled for a 1-1 draw.
    — PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of downtrodden
Verb
  • Russell’s previous things, HBO put money into, but the whole anti-DEI crusade has meant that a subject matter like this has made American companies scared to invest in it.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Researchers knew part of what scared children on 9/11 were the loud sirens and the fact that trusted figures such as firefighters and police officers were hurt.
    — Julie Dobrow, The Conversation, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of scared
Adjective
  • Firefighters rescued two construction workers, ages 27 and 29, who were trapped inside the crushed construction container, Miami Fire Chief Robert Hevia said during a news conference.
    — Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Men routinely fall off buildings, get electrocuted, crushed or maimed.
    — Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of crushed
Verb
  • In a filing late Tuesday, the Justice Department defended the ban, claiming that reporting from the outlets threatened national security.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The latter report, however, points out that despite Uzbek political reforms, freedom of expression remains threatened in the region, per Amnesty International.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of threatened

Browse Nearby Words

browbeat
browbeaten
browbeating
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Cite this Entry

“Browbeaten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/browbeaten. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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