HECTORING Synonyms: 134 Similar and Opposite Words

hectoring 1 of 2

noun

as in browbeating

Related Words

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Dissimilar Words

hectoring

2 of 2

verb

present participle of hector

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

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 hectoring

Noun

Greengrass’s attempts to wrap a political statement up in Bourne clothing is awkward and jarring, and the movie is more preachy and hectoring than particularly enlightening. — Tim Grierson, Vulture, 1 Jan. 2026 Imagine if Clooney had chosen to use his star power to spotlight a genuinely worthy project — the way, say, Sarah Paulson did with Appropriate or Keanu Reeves is doing with Waiting For Godot — rather than the stuffy, moribund, on-the-nose hectoring that was Good Night, and Good Luck? — Greg Evans, Deadline, 31 Dec. 2025 Sure, there's the hectoring of Federal Reserve officials, Chairman Jerome Powell and Governor Lisa Cook, and the attempt by the president to make the central bank another appendage of the White House. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 18 Sep. 2025

Verb

His character is a severe, hectoring figure; his lessons amount to an exhortation to be as mean as possible when money is concerned. — Christopher Cox, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026 Pratt was just another angry New Yorker hectoring calumnies against all forms of authority. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 14 May 2026 Perhaps more meaningfully, the message is the antithesis of a contrived political pitch or a hectoring sermon. — Philip Elliott, Time, 26 Feb. 2026 Dealing with the hectoring racket of New York fans may well have prepared him to withstand the noise of the Super Bowl. — Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hectoring

Noun

Many of them are angry that his life was taken, and say that more resources to combat gun violence and bullying should be available.

— CBS News, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
The victim’s heartbroken father said his son had been bullied by a couple of students at the school who were recently suspended — and believes the bullying may have something to do with Javits’ murder.

— Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of bullying

Verb

The sidewalks of Philadelphia were packed — not with an intimidating crowd of protesters, but with people holding Israeli flags and waiting in line for hours to order a plate of hummus or a bowl of matzah ball soup.

— Jessica Tzikas, Sun Sentinel, 11 Nov. 2026
He was also prohibited from intimidating or retaliating against potential witnesses.

— Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2026

Definition of intimidating

Noun

The demands to stop the bulldozing and construction of areas in the Big Bend region of Texas are continuing, despite a pause in the work.

— Ken Molestina, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026
Outside, the ceaseless roar of jackhammering and bulldozing went on as the ballroom, challenged by lawsuits and protected by that titanium fencing, took shape.

— Matt Viser, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026

Definition of bulldozing

Verb

Repent and repair Rather than browbeating people into repentance, the Ne’ilah service’s strategy is to boost them up into it, playing upon the biblical idea of the grandeur of humanity.

— Reuven Kimelman, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2026
His process of doing so involved disparaging his accusers, browbeating people and institutions that no longer wanted to be associated with him, and refusing to accept a path that precluded a return to being a public figure.

— Elizabeth Spiers, Vanity Fair, 29 Apr. 2026

Definition of browbeating

Noun

But the investigative onslaught is also a source of tension for Democrats, with many warning that delivering on their central promise to voters -- actions to lower the cost of living -- must take precedence.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 9 Nov. 2026
The United Nations and international rights groups say these acts also amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, which has been facing a bitter onslaught by the RSF.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of onslaught

Noun

Officers responded to the museum on Oakwood Boulevard on Saturday evening after learning of the possible threat.

— CBS News, CBS News, 8 Nov. 2026
Federal district judges, even at the risk of physical threats, played a key role by throttling unconstitutional White House efforts to seize state voting records, curtail mail-in voting and manipulate the count in Alaska.

— James D. Zirin, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of threat

Noun

And when people in the town start believing Grace is a real-life saint, a spiritual frenzy spreads through the community, Contagion-style.

— CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2026
But history tells us that sooner or later, something new will emerge to provoke an employment frenzy, followed by an employment meltdown.

— Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2026

Definition of frenzy

Noun

By Thursday morning, a rebellion by several members of Peña's own conservative Colorado Party had become a party-wide revolt.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026
The Texas revolt will, in the long run, likely have an impact on national politics as profound as California’s transformation away from Pete Wilson–era GOP dominance in the 1990s.

— Sasha Abramsky, Washington Post, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of revolt

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Style

“Hectoring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hectoring. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of hectoring

noun

verb

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