as in bully
a person who teases, threatens, or hurts smaller, weaker, or more vulnerable persons
law penalizing debt collection agencies that operate like hectors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to intimidate
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
as in browbeating
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Recent Examples of hector
The Economist, 18 July 2017
Trump’s proposals to match China’s import fees and to hector companies into keeping jobs in the United States represent a huge threat to the mercantilist Asian economic model.
—Joel Kotkin, Orange County Register, 2 Apr. 2017
James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2024
Since then, Obama and the Party have lost the hectoring tone.
—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hector
Noun
THE young woman with the microphone cajoles, hectors and wheedles customers with the breathless enthusiasm of a livestock auctioneer at a county fair.
—The Economist, 18 July 2017
Trump’s proposals to match China’s import fees and to hector companies into keeping jobs in the United States represent a huge threat to the mercantilist Asian economic model.
—Joel Kotkin, Orange County Register, 2 Apr. 2017
Verb
Like many of Harris’ media appearances, those events assured the former president steered well away from hectoring hosts and their inconvenient fact-checking.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2024
Since then, Obama and the Party have lost the hectoring tone.
—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hector
Cite this Entry
“Hector.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hector. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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