as in intimidating
to make timid or fearful by or as if by threats
the judge warned the attorney that hectoring the witness with aggressive questioning would not be allowed
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as in browbeating
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hectoring
Verb
-
Relapse is alluring, Bart is intimidating, and Son is mysterious.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2025 -
While the market’s recent volatility can be intimidating, experts generally recommend investors focus on their long-term goals.—
Ana Teresa Solá,
CNBC,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Instead, there was a fast, tough, physical team flying around and making big-time plays, bullying the big-boy Tar Heels.—
Kels Dayton,
Hartford Courant,
30 Dec. 2024
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LeBron James scored 32 points one game after setting the NBA’s all-time minutes record for regular-season games, bullying the Kings on the offensive end while grabbing four steals on the defensive end.—
Dan Woike,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Dec. 2024
Noun
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While Quansah gave away a penalty to make it 2-1, England defended Spain’s second half onslaught incredibly well both collectively and individually.—
Nnamdi Onyeagwara,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
-
Shops have been closed across Tehran, including in its famed Grand Bazaar, as people wait in gas lines and pack roads leading out of the city to escape the onslaught.—
Joseph Krauss,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2025
Noun
-
The thinking among investors is that the stocks in the ETF will get more attention due to the threat from Iran's sophisticated army of hackers.—
Jason Gewirtz,
CNBC,
26 June 2025
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It was enabled with specific enforcement machinery in response to religious lobbying and the threat of significant industry opposition from the Catholic church.—
Betsy Golden Kellem,
JSTOR Daily,
25 June 2025
Noun
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With Bush at the helm, fingers flying up and down the neck of his mandolin, the 73-year-old stirred the crowd into a frenzy.—
Garret K. Woodward,
Rolling Stone,
23 June 2025
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Meanwhile, Bradley, playing in front of his home crowd, sent the place into a frenzy.—
Julio Cesar Valdera Morales,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 June 2025
Noun
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The revolt by a large number of Labour MPs against benefit cuts imposed by Keir Starmer is an example.—
Mike O'Sullivan,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
-
Rumors of connections between Saint Domingue and slave resistance abounded in Virginia after 1793 and shaped how whites understood Gabriel’s revolt in Richmond in 1800.—
Time,
Time,
9 June 2025
Noun
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The dashboard comes at a time when the justice system is still adjusting to major changes, like the elimination of cash bail in 2023 in addition to the massive upheaval brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.—
Madeline Buckley,
Chicago Tribune,
29 June 2025
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The closing comes at a time of mild upheaval in the Coconut Grove culinary scene.—
Connie Ogle,
Miami Herald,
28 June 2025
Noun
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Months of arrests in Charlotte ICE has been making increasingly public arrests in Mecklenburg County over the last several months, stoking fear and outrage.—
Ryan Oehrli,
Charlotte Observer,
20 June 2025
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In an environment where virality often outperforms veracity, the temptation rises: optimize for engagement, lean into outrage and co-opt the aesthetic of authenticity without accountability.—
ByLyric Mandell,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Hectoring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hectoring. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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