1
as in enemies
a person who teases, threatens, or hurts smaller, weaker, or more vulnerable persons
the school has a procedure for students who want to report problems with bullies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in thugs
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
the local loan shark and his bullies have ways of making people pay up
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in abuses
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
the kindergarten teacher explained why it was wrong to bully classmates
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in intimidates
to make timid or fearful by or as if by threats
the manager was fired for bullying employees
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of bullies
Kristian Winfield, Sun Sentinel, 25 May 2026
The Knicks have become the Eastern Conference bullies.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 24 May 2026
It’s not made explicitly clear if these seemingly sympathetic kids are actually his worst bullies, but Machado-Graner’s eyes, lip twitch, and throat gulp in this short sequence tell a whole story in themselves.
—Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
While audiences watched Sheldon navigate school and its bullies, the actors behind the scenes were building impressive lives of their own.
—Jane Lacroix, PEOPLE, 17 May 2026
Racine quickly rises, beats the bullies, and then returns to sit next to her sister.
—Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
The bullies threatened to take their ball and go home.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 8 May 2026
Skip bullies like Canadian goldenrod that have rampant roots and seeds that self-sow everywhere.
—Teresa Woodard, Midwest Living, 3 May 2026
In other words, nobody brags, bullies or buys their way into the Derby.
—Peter Keating, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026
Collective action deters bullies Harvard never stood alone.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 1 Feb. 2026
There’s always a mean kid in your class who bullies everybody else.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
The Bullies Versus The Bullied Studies show that men make up around 65% to 70% of workplace bullies overall, which researchers argue is in alignment with broader power disparities, as men continue to hold a majority of senior leadership roles.
—Maia Niguel Hoskin, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Henry Bowers is the local punk who relentlessly bullies the Losers' Club and later falls under the spell of Pennywise.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Dec. 2025
Cipher bullies other characters across the season about their powers, but because of Andre and Polarity’s degenerative abilities, this underscores the eugenics behind his beliefs.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
The Knicks have become the Eastern Conference bullies.
—Kristian Winfield, Sun Sentinel, 25 May 2026
The Knicks have become the Eastern Conference bullies.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 24 May 2026
It’s not made explicitly clear if these seemingly sympathetic kids are actually his worst bullies, but Machado-Graner’s eyes, lip twitch, and throat gulp in this short sequence tell a whole story in themselves.
—Josh Slater-Williams, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
While audiences watched Sheldon navigate school and its bullies, the actors behind the scenes were building impressive lives of their own.
—Jane Lacroix, PEOPLE, 17 May 2026
Racine quickly rises, beats the bullies, and then returns to sit next to her sister.
—Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026
The bullies threatened to take their ball and go home.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 8 May 2026
Skip bullies like Canadian goldenrod that have rampant roots and seeds that self-sow everywhere.
—Teresa Woodard, Midwest Living, 3 May 2026
In other words, nobody brags, bullies or buys their way into the Derby.
—Peter Keating, New York Times, 1 May 2026
Verb
The Pledge is meaningless if the president of the United States lies to us, divides us, bullies us and steals from us.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026
Collective action deters bullies Harvard never stood alone.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 1 Feb. 2026
There’s always a mean kid in your class who bullies everybody else.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
The Bullies Versus The Bullied Studies show that men make up around 65% to 70% of workplace bullies overall, which researchers argue is in alignment with broader power disparities, as men continue to hold a majority of senior leadership roles.
—Maia Niguel Hoskin, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Henry Bowers is the local punk who relentlessly bullies the Losers' Club and later falls under the spell of Pennywise.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Dec. 2025
Cipher bullies other characters across the season about their powers, but because of Andre and Polarity’s degenerative abilities, this underscores the eugenics behind his beliefs.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bullies
Noun
-
Hunger and disease are always enemies that accompany war and sometimes can claim more lives than the fighting itself.—
William Lambers,
Hartford Courant,
6 June 2026
-
The big and heavy fights in the new trailer for gen ATLAS (shown below) really remind me of fighting various large enemies in Gigantic Drive.—
Ollie Barder,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Noun
-
The masked thugs deposit a tearful middle-aged woman in front of Bass, Newsom, and Harris.—
Conor Friedersdorf,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
-
White thugs destroyed it in the 1921 Race Massacre.—
Jasmine Desiree,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
New York City’s child welfare agency routinely abuses its emergency power to take children from their parents without a court order, creating lifelong consequences for families, a new class-action lawsuit seeking to end the practice alleged Thursday.—
Cayla Bamberger,
New York Daily News,
28 May 2026
-
People deserve a government that watches out for our people’s best interests, not one that abuses its powers and sells us to the highest bidder.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates or interferes with airline crew members can lead to penalties of up to $43,658 per violation, according to the FAA.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
3 May 2026
-
The aura of the classical guitar intimidates me.—
Peter Wayne Moe,
Longreads,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
All the while, Sarah is being hunted by corporate intimidators Dawson (Sam Worthington) and Rosetti (Willa Fitzgerald), who want to ensure her silence.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Russian athletes are routinely asked to answer for the actions of their government, yet athletes from other countries are rarely subjected to the same scrutiny or treated as though they are personally aligned with war criminals or dictators.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
7 June 2026
-
Rafay Baloch, a cybersecurity expert and author of the book Web Hacking Arsenal, says that criminals specifically look for travelers who appear disoriented.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
But the future Hall of Famer is coming off ACL surgery, might lack mobility, and has a receiving corps that frightens nobody.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
15 May 2026
-
The piercing sunlight frightens her.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Still, the star did not name her harassers.—
Chanel Vargas,
InStyle,
22 May 2026
-
Most harassers do not harass others in front of someone else.—
Briana Mascaro,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bullies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bullies. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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