BULLY (bullied)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: bullied   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does bully mean? 

• BULLY (noun)
  The noun BULLY has 2 senses:

1. a cruel and brutal fellow

2. a hired thug

  Familiarity information: BULLY used as a noun is rare.

• BULLY (adjective)
  The adjective BULLY has 1 sense:

1. very good

  Familiarity information: BULLY used as an adjective is very rare.

• BULLY (verb)
  The verb BULLY has 2 senses:

1. be bossy towards

2. discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate

  Familiarity information: BULLY used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BULLY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A cruel and brutal fellow

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

bully; hooligan; roughneck; rowdy; ruffian; tough; yob; yobbo; yobo

Hypernyms ("bully" is a kind of...):

aggressor; assailant; assaulter; attacker (someone who attacks)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bully"):

bullyboy (a swaggering tough; usually one acting as an agent of a political faction)

muscle; muscleman (a bully employed as a thug or bodyguard)

skin; skinhead (a member of any of several British or American groups consisting predominantly of young people who shave their heads; some engage in white supremacist and anti-immigrant activities and this leads to the perception that all skinheads are racist and violent)

plug-ugly; tough guy (someone who bullies weaker people)

Derivation:

bully (discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A hired thug

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("bully" is a kind of...):

goon; hood; hoodlum; punk; strong-armer; thug; tough; toughie (an aggressive and violent young criminal)

• BULLY (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Very good

Synonyms:

bang-up; bully; corking; cracking; dandy; great; groovy; keen; neat; nifty; not bad; old; peachy; slap-up; smashing; swell

Context example:

we had a grand old time

Similar:

good (having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

• BULLY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they bully    ... he / she / it bullies   
Past simple: bullied   
Past participle: bullied   
-ing form: bullying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be bossy towards

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

ballyrag; boss around; browbeat; bully; bullyrag; hector; push around; strong-arm

Context example:

Her big brother always bullied her when she was young

Hypernyms (to "bully" is one way to...):

intimidate (make timid or fearful)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bully"):

domineer; tyrannise; tyrannize (rule or exercise power over (somebody) in a cruel and autocratic manner)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

browbeat; bully; swagger

Hypernyms (to "bully" is one way to...):

blarney; cajole; coax; inveigle; palaver; sweet-talk; wheedle (influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something

Sentence examples:

They bully him into writing the letter
They want to bully the prisoners

Derivation:

bully (a cruel and brutal fellow)

 Context examples 

Often people dismiss bullying among kids as a normal part of growing up.

(Bullying, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

He was a dreadful person—a bully to everyone else, but to me something infinitely worse.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

If he can't out-argue them he bullies them, and then takes their silence for agreement with his views.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

His bullying, overbearing manner was all gone too, and he cringed along at my companion’s side like a dog with its master.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"Now look here, old woman," Higginbotham bullied, "for the thousandth time I've told you to keep your nose out of the business. I won't tell you again."

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Pluto and Saturn will both be directly opposed to the tender moon, and this time, both planets will act like bullies.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The first seemed to be an assembly of heroes and demigods; the other, a knot of pedlars, pick-pockets, highwayman, and bullies.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

“Dis is de las’. Den we get one long res’. Eh? For sure. One bully long res’.”

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

He had had experience in puppy fights and was already something of a bully.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

“Your life for this!” said the bully, with a face which was distorted with rage.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)