as in cowed
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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
Verb
-
A lot of men in my past were really intimidated by my success.—
Alexandra Del Rosario,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
-
Serena Williams didn’t get great at tennis by avoiding playing because she was intimidated.—
Heather Kelly,
Forbes.com,
18 May 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
-
Justin is being bullied at school, but doesn’t want to burden his father.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
15 May 2026
-
Amar, who is nine years old, has been hit and bullied at school; once, a classmate strangled him.—
Annie Hylton,
New Yorker,
14 May 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 Lord in your convent frightened me, Jesus with his bloody palms and gaping mouth, eyes rolled back in terror.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 May 2026
-
Lee Cronin was both flattered and frightened when Jason Blum suggested titling his The Mummy reimagining as Lee Cronin’s The Mummy.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Many people bike the park's crushed-limestone trail one way, then take the train back to their starting point.—
Robert Annis,
Midwest Living,
16 May 2026
-
Unique ice cream flavors include Baklava (honey ice cream with phyllo dough, almond paste and crushed almonds) for Algeria and Sachertote (chocolate ice cream with chocolate sponge cake and an apricot swirl) for Austria.—
Noelle Alviz-Gransee
May 15,
Kansas City Star,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
And then other people had been waiting a really long time and were scared of their rights being taken away or scared that their families wouldn't approve.—
Jack Irvin,
PEOPLE,
19 May 2026
-
Outside Idlib, most Syrians have never seen or met a Uyghur fighter before, and the conservative Sunni Muslim beliefs held by many Uyghurs in Syria have scared Syria's minority communities.—
Emily Feng,
NPR,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
Democrats have threatened to do the same in blue states.—
Ashley Wu,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
-
Cuban officials defended the attack, claiming the planes repeatedly violated Cuban airspace and threatened their sovereignty.—
Rick Jervis,
USA Today,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Browbeaten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/browbeaten. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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