Adjacent Words

Bully definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BULL'Y, n. A noisy, blustering overbearing fellow, more distinguished for insolence and empty menaces, than for courage, and disposed to provoke quarrels.
BULL'Y, v.t. To insult and overbear with noise and blustering menaces.
BULL'Y, , v.i. To be noisy and quarrelsome.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: very good; "he did a bully job"; "a neat sports car"; "had a great time at the party"; "you look simply smashing" [syn: bang-up, bully, corking, cracking, dandy, great, groovy, keen, neat, nifty, not bad, peachy, slap-up, swell, smashing] n
1: a cruel and brutal fellow [syn: bully, tough, hooligan, ruffian, roughneck, rowdy, yob, yobo, yobbo]
2: a hired thug v
1: be bossy towards; "Her big brother always bullied her when she was young" [syn: strong-arm, bully, browbeat, bullyrag, ballyrag, boss around, hector, push around]
2: discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate [syn: browbeat, bully, swagger]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural bullies) Etymology: probably from Middle Dutch boele lover; akin to Middle Low German b?le lover, Middle High German buole Date: 1538 1. archaic a. sweetheart b. a fine chap 2. a. a blustering browbeating person; especially one habitually cruel to others who are weaker b. pimp 3. a hired ruffian II. adjective Date: 1609 1. excellent, first-rate — often used in interjectional expressions <bully for you> 2. resembling or characteristic of a bully III. verb (bullied; bullying) Date: 1693 transitive verb 1. to treat abusively 2. to affect by means of force or coercion intransitive verb to use browbeating language or behavior ; bluster Synonyms: see intimidate IV. noun Etymology: probably modification of French (bœuf) boulli boiled beef Date: 1753 pickled or canned usually corned beef

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. (pl. -ies) a person who uses strength or power to coerce others by fear. --v.tr. (-ies, -ied) 1 persecute or oppress by force or threats. 2 (foll. by into + verbal noun) pressure or coerce (a person) to do something (bullied him into agreeing). Phrases and idioms: bully-boy a hired ruffian. Etymology: orig. as a term of endearment, prob. f. MDu. boele lover 2. adj. & int. colloq. --adj. very good; first-rate. --int. (foll. by for) expressing admiration or approval, or iron. (bully for them!). Etymology: perh. f BULLY(1) 3. n. & v. (in full bully off) --n. (pl. -ies) the start of play in hockey in which two opponents strike each other's sticks three times and then go for the ball. --v.intr. (-ies, -ied) start play in this way. Etymology: 19th c.: perh. f. bully scrum in Eton football, of unkn. orig. 4. n. (in full bully beef) corned beef. Etymology: F bouilli boiled beef f. bouillir BOIL(1)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bully Bul"ly, n., Bully beef Bul"ly beef` [F. bouilli boiled meat, fr. bouillir to boil. See Boil, v. The word bouilli was formerly commonly used on the labels of canned beef.] Pickled or canned beef.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bully Bul"ly, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bullied; p. pr. & vb. n. Bullying.] To intimidate with threats and by an overbearing, swaggering demeanor; to act the part of a bully toward. For the last fortnight there have been prodigious shoals of volunteers gone over to bully the French, upon hearing the peace was just signing. --Tatler. Syn: To bluster; swagger; hector; domineer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bully Bul"ly, v. i. To act as a bully.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bully Bul"ly, n.; pl. Bullies. [Cf. LG. bullerjaan, bullerb["a]k, bullerbrook, a blusterer, D. bulderaar a bluster, bulderen to bluster; prob. of imitative origin; or cf. MHG. buole lover, G. buhle.] 1. A noisy, blustering fellow, more insolent than courageous; one who is threatening and quarrelsome; an insolent, tyrannical fellow. Bullies seldom execute the threats they deal in. --Palmerston. 2. A brisk, dashing fellow. [Slang Obs.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bully Bul"ly, a. 1. Jovial and blustering; dashing. [Slang] ``Bless thee, bully doctor.'' --Shak. 2. Fine; excellent; as, a bully horse. [Slang, U.S.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(bullies, bullying, bullied) 1. A bully is someone who uses their strength or power to hurt or frighten other people. I fell victim to the office bully... N-COUNT 2. If someone bullies you, they use their strength or power to hurt or frighten you. I wasn't going to let him bully me... VERB: V n • bullying ...schoolchildren who were victims of bullying. 3. If someone bullies you into something, they make you do it by using force or threats. We think an attempt to bully them into submission would be counterproductive... She used to bully me into doing my schoolwork... The government says it will not be bullied by the press. VERB: V n into n/-ing, V n into n/-ing, be V-ed, also V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Blusterer, swaggerer, vaporer, hector, fire-eater, Hotspur, mock hero, swash-buckler, browbeater, bully-rook, bully-rock, domineering stormer. 2. Desperado, villain, blackguard, bawd-protector, harlot's henchman. II. v. a. Browbeat, overbear, intimidate with threats, treat insolently.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A cowardly fellow, who gives himself airs of great bravery. A bully huff cap; a hector. See HECTOR.

Moby Thesaurus

Antaeus, Atlas, Briareus, Brobdingnagian, Charles Atlas, Cyclops, Goliath, Hercules, Herod, OK, Polyphemus, Samson, Superman, Tarzan, Titan, ace-high, admirable, annoyer, awe, bad, badgerer, bang-up, battler, beat down, beef, beef extract, beef tea, belligerent, belted knight, bickerer, blackjack, blade, blatherskite, bludgeon, bluff, bluffer, bluster, bluster and bluff, bluster out of, blusterer, bonzer, boss, bouillon, bounce, brag, braggart, bravo, brawler, break, browbeat, browbeater, bucko, bulldoze, bulldozer, bully beef, bullyboy, bullyrag, but good, cadet, capital, castrate, champion, charqui, chipped beef, clamp down on, coerce, colossus, combatant, compel, competitor, contender, contestant, cool, corking, cow, crackerjack, cutthroat, dandy, daunt, delicious, demoralize, desperado, despotize, devil, disputant, domineer, domineer over, dragoon, dried beef, ducky, duelist, enforcer, enslave, fab, famous, fancy man, fanfaron, fencer, feuder, fighter, fighting cock, fine, fine and dandy, first-rate, foilsman, gamecock, gasconade, gear, giant, gladiator, goon, gorilla, great, grind, grind down, groovy, ground beef, gunman, hamburger, harass, harasser, harrier, hatchet man, heavy, heckler, hector, hectorer, hell-raiser, hellcat, henpeck, hijack, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, hot, huff, hunky-dory, intimidate, intimidator, jam-up, jerky, jolly, jouster, just dandy, keen, keep down, keep under, killer, knight, lord it over, mad dog, marvy, mean, menace, militant, muscle man, nag, neat, nifty, nobby, nudnik, nudzh, okay, oppress, out of sight, out-herod Herod, overawe, overbear, overmaster, override, pander, pastrami, peachy, peachy-keen, persecute, persecutor, pest, pesterer, plaguer, plug-ugly, powerhouse, press heavy on, push around, quarreler, rage, rant, ranter, rave, raver, repress, ride over, ride roughshod over, rioter, ripping, rival, roast beef, roister, roisterer, rollick, rough, rowdy, ruffian, rum, sabreur, sadist, salt beef, scrapper, scrumptious, scuffler, shanghai, slang, slap-up, smashing, solid, something else, spiffing, spiffy, splutter, sputter, squabbler, stalwart, steamroller, storm, strong arm, strong man, strong-arm, strong-arm man, strong-armer, struggler, stunning, subjugate, suet, superior, suppress, swagger, swaggerer, swashbuckle, swashbuckler, swasher, swell, sword, swordplayer, swordsman, systematically terrorize, tease, teaser, terrorize, the mighty, the strong, threaten, thug, tilter, torment, tormentor, torture, tough, tough guy, tower of strength, trample down, trample upon, tread down, tread upon, tussler, tyrannize, tyrannize over, tyrant, unman, use violence, vapor, vaporer, walk all over, walk over, weigh heavy on, wizard, worthy, wrangler