BROWBEATEN Synonyms: 77 Similar and Opposite Words

browbeaten 1 of 2

adjective

as in cowed

Related Words

Relevance

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

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

Roosevelt’s patrician upbringing, as well as ties to her husband’s career, led to certain frictions between the two, with Murray consistently urging the First Lady to act on behalf of Black Americans and other oppressed peoples.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 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

The stranger’s hollow cheeks, his dark eyes, whose lashes always appeared wet, the bony shoulders that protruded from the singlet Chee Meng had lent him—all of it frightened Shawn.

— Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
Families confronting a devastating diagnosis may already be frightened, grieving and overwhelmed.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 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

And there are so many more that have stayed silent because people out there have told them not to speak up, who have scared them into not speaking up.

— Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Elmore says the bear eventually climbed down the side of the truck, and employees scared it away from the area.

— Christa Swanson, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of scared

Adjective

But once assembly was complete the pit was very sturdy, and my wife and I were easily able to carry it between my porch and a crushed-stone section of my backyard that usually holds a firepit, trying it in both places.

— Noah Kaufman, Architectural Digest, 2 Oct. 2026
Pike took a piece of the victim's crushed skull as a trophy and later showed it off in school, recounting that Slemmer had begged the trio to stop, according to court records.

— Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of crushed

Verb

Attacks on Abha and Riyadh's King Khalid international airports in Saudia Arabia threatened to pull the kingdom deeper into the latest front in the Iran war.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026
Mecklenburg County commissioners blasted Discovery Place over its handling of county money for its nature museum Tuesday and threatened to take control of the museum’s operations and hold Discovery Place in default for millions.

— Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of threatened

Browse Nearby Words

browbeat

browbeaten

browbeating

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Browbeaten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/browbeaten. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of browbeaten

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

etiquette

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes