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Antonyms for bully
| Grammar : Noun, verb |
| Spell : bool-ee |
| Phonetic Transcription : ˈbʊl i |
Definition of bully
Origin :- 1530s, originally "sweetheart," applied to either sex, from Dutch boel "lover; brother," probably a diminutive of Middle Dutch broeder "brother" (cf. Middle High German buole "brother," source of German Buhle "lover;" see brother (n.)).
- Meaning deteriorated 17c. through "fine fellow" and "blusterer" to "harasser of the weak" (1680s, from bully-ruffian, 1650s). Perhaps this was by influence of bull (n.1), but a connecting sense between "lover" and "ruffian" may be in "protector of a prostitute," which was one sense of bully (though not specifically attested until 1706). The expression meaning "worthy, jolly, admirable" (especially in 1864 U.S. slang bully for you!) is first attested 1680s, and preserves an earlier, positive sense of the word.
- noun domineering person
- verb intimidate, push around
- "The professor made a bully speech," said more than one after the exercises were over.
- Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger
- I have seen enough of you to know that you are a bully and coward.
- Extract from : « Little Dorrit » by Charles Dickens
- It was now that Globson, Bully no more, sought me out in the playground.
- Extract from : « The Uncommercial Traveller » by Charles Dickens
- And so it is with me, bully boy, saving that my doxy cometh not.
- Extract from : « The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood » by Howard Pyle
- Straight up to the bully he walked and looked him firmly in the eye.
- Extract from : « The Widow O'Callaghan's Boys » by Gulielma Zollinger
- "Bully for you," he finally said, looking all about as if to size up the surroundings.
- Extract from : « Pee-wee Harris » by Percy Keese Fitzhugh
- The bully is not always, or, in fact, often the leader in harness.
- Extract from : « The Long Labrador Trail » by Dillon Wallace
- He had had experience in puppy fights and was already something of a bully.
- Extract from : « White Fang » by Jack London
- Well, I guess when he starts the bully is greased lightning.
- Extract from : « The Law-Breakers » by Ridgwell Cullum
- I tried to bully him, and stamped my foot at him, and—and called him a drunken brute.
- Extract from : « The Law-Breakers » by Ridgwell Cullum
Synonyms for bully
- annoyer
- antagonizer
- bludgeon
- bluster
- browbeat
- browbeater
- buffalo
- bulldoze
- bulldozer
- coerce
- coercer
- cow
- despotize
- domineer
- dragoon
- enforce
- harass
- harrier
- hector
- insolent
- intimidator
- lean on
- menace
- oppress
- oppressor
- overbear
- persecute
- persecutor
- pest
- rascal
- ride roughshod
- rowdy
- ruffian
- showboat
- swagger
- tease
- terrorize
- threaten
- torment
- tormenter
- torture
- tough
- turn on the heat
- tyrannize
- walk heavy
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019