Synonyms

bullying

American

[bool-ee-ing] / ˈbʊl i ɪŋ /

noun

the act of harassing, intimidating, or abusing others, especially habitually or from a perceived position of relative power.

Bullying and stress can impact students' experiences at school.

Other Word Forms

unbullying adjective

Etymology

Origin of bullying

First recorded in 1675–85; bully ¹ ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When Andie defends herself from the girls bullying her in her gym class and gets sent to the principal’s office for it, she refuses to offer a polite apology.

From Salon

"I called the police and I asked for help. I can't understand why they were bullying my family. Nobody knows why."

From BBC

Meta is working to convince jurors that the teenager’s struggles were caused not by social media, but by other factors, including bullying at school and tensions at home.

From The Wall Street Journal

So he’s giving it a new lens to look at what bullying looks like for kids today.

From Los Angeles Times

On Monday, at a disarmament conference in Geneva, Chinese ambassador Shen Jian said: "We oppose unilateral bullying and the use of force in international relations."

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023