as in browbeating
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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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Recent Examples of hectoring
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
Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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
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
Verb
-
Sunderland 1-1 Fulham Everton vs Manchester United An evening kick-off at Goodison Park, under the floodlights, could be intimidating for visiting teams — and sometimes for the home team.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Their permanent, tooth-baring grin may appear intimidating, but sand tigers sharks are considered among the safest sharks to encounter in the water.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The government also stopped collecting and reporting crucial survey findings on transgender students — data that have shown higher rates of depression, drug use, bullying and other problems.—
Mike Stobbe,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
-
There are studies showing that use of the platforms is correlated to depression, low self-esteem and bullying.—
Erwin Chemerinsky,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Analysts have suggested a vote from Waller in favor of interest rate cuts, aligning with the president’s browbeating demands for lower borrowing costs—could be seen as a bellwether for his candidacy.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
28 Jan. 2026
-
This might take a series of browbeating prompts, but that’s not a big deal.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Only 40% of the city’s 260,000 residents managed to flee the onslaught alive, thousands of whom were wounded, the officials said.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Our mammalian brains cannot process this onslaught of trauma here and everywhere; we are not wired to be in constant fight or flight.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Book recalls Epstein's threat to harm her brother At 16, Roberts Giuffre got a job as a locker room attendant at a nearby resort, Mar-a-Lago, where her father was a maintenance man.—
Laura Trujillo,
USA Today,
21 Feb. 2026
-
The gun was not loaded, Boyd said, and a preliminary investigation determined that there was no threat to specific students or the school.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In these and recent Olympics, athletes have gone viral for amassing pins in the village with varying frenzy.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Given Supermicro’s high-profile role in the AI build-out frenzy, the CFO also needs to have strategic relationships with analysts, investment banks, and market participants.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The case helped fuel a revolt across Wall Street, mostly since quelled, by junior talent tired of 120-hour weeks.—
Rohan Goswami,
semafor.com,
19 Feb. 2026
-
While providing the soundtrack for an 1832 Paris street revolt, its message and spirit are adaptable to any time spines could use some steel when facing down an oppressor.—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Beyond the vaccine upheaval, some of the agency’s core functions seem hobbled.—
Lisa Jarvis,
Mercury News,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Iranian officials have previously threatened to close the strait in the face of tensions with the West, a scenario that could cause upheaval in the global energy market.—
Farida Elsebai,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hectoring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hectoring. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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