HECTORS Synonyms: 102 Similar and Opposite Words

hectors 1 of 2

noun

plural of hector

as in enemies

a person who teases, threatens, or hurts smaller, weaker, or more vulnerable persons law penalizing debt collection agencies that operate like hectors

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hectors

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of hector

as in intimidates

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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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 hectors

Noun

Larry David, in character, hectors at the Wright brothers in the trailer for his new HBO Max series. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 11 June 2026 At the slightest provocation, Ye bullies, hectors, and screams at everyone from Paris fashion-show lackeys to the mother of his child. — Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 10 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hectors

Noun

Since coming to power in 2012, the ruling populist party has gradually established control over mainstream media while often describing embattled critical outlets as enemies of the state.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026
Raz, in his MDA talk, said the backlash against Israel was a campaign orchestrated by radical activists and Israel’s enemies.

— Stewart Ain, Sun Sentinel, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of enemies

Verb

Melanie Melanie came to this reunion prepared with both facts and a prosecutorial confrontation style that effectively intimidates all of her on-stage opponents.

— Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 1 Sep. 2026
In the five vignettes, James, as his character Eddie Horniman, intimidates various individuals while going through the clean-up, the sacrifice, the angle, the cut and the judgment — all steps of serving Stella Artois.

— Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of intimidates

Noun

Dementia is clearly a big problem, and yet, sadly, our politicians — both Democrats and Republicans — talk about it not like adults, but like schoolyard bullies.

— Jason Karlawish, STAT, 16 Sep. 2026
Now Carrie enters public school for the very first time, and with the reemergence of formidable telekinetic abilities, her blissful naivety of girlhood and her wide-open heart make her easy prey for physical and online bullies.

— Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of bullies

Verb

With their long and crescent-shaped horns, the Inyambo cows graze at the King’s Palace Museum in Nyanza and at the homes of some of Rwanda's richest people, including President Paul Kagame.

— ABC News, ABC News, 27 June 2026
The notion of cow tipping is based on the idea that cows sleep standing up.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Mar. 2026

Definition of cows

Verb

The report starts by outlining how the league browbeats front offices with memos and other communication about cap circumvention and what qualifies, which is absolutely correct.

— John Hollinger, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Scarface doesn’t just bark orders at his underlings but browbeats the whimpering Ventriloquist, giving him that warped double personality that made older characters like Two-Face so alluring.

— Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of browbeats

Noun

That a Christian man was responsible for the devastation in Oklahoma City certainly didn’t matter to the thugs who terrorized a Muslim woman there, nearly seven months pregnant, by attacking her home, breaking her windows, screaming religious slurs.

— Reshma Memon Yaqub, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Some of the thugs were actual neo-Nazis, led by real-life Russian fascist Maksim Martsinkevich, who would later be imprisoned for posting racist videos, investigated for murder and, in 2020, found dead in his cell of an apparent suicide.

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of thugs

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hectoring

hectors

hedge

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“Hectors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hectors. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of hectors

noun

verb

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