bully
Picks on others
A bully is someone who habitually intimidates, threatens, or mistreats those weaker or less powerful: The playground bully took his lunch money.
To bully is to behave this way: She was bullied throughout middle school.
Bullying can be physical, verbal, or social—spreading rumors, excluding someone, or now, harassing online (cyberbullying).
As an adjective, bully once meant excellent or first-rate: Bully for you!
This sense survives mainly in ironic or mocking use.
Deliberate fear-inducing pressure
- harassmentAggressive, unwanted targeting
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
- crueltyDeliberate harm-causing disposition
- tormentSevere prolonged suffering
threats · coercion · meanness · malice · hostility · antagonism · persecution · oppression
Promise harm or punishment
- menaceSource of potential harm
- browbeatIntimidate through pressure
- cowFemale bovine
- strong-armCoerce through intimidation
terrorize · pressure · frighten · daunt · overawe · bluster · swagger · loom
Insulting provocation
- mockScornful imitation or fake
- teaseMock playfully
- ridiculeContemptuous mocking treatment
- belittleTo make something seem unimportant
heckle · jeer · sneer · humiliate · demean · deride · insult · badmouth
Children's outdoor recreation space
- classmateFellow student
- peerOne of similar standing
- cafeteriaSelf-service dining facility
- hallwayInterior connecting passage
locker · recess · clique · popular · unpopular · loner · nerd · new kid
Acclaim for performers
- good jobApproval for effort
- well doneThoroughly cooked, or congratulations
- excellentOf superior quality
- way to goExclamation praising accomplishment
attaboy · attagirl · hooray · nice work · splendid · capital · first-rate · top-notch
Object of pursuit
- preyAnimal being hunted
- scapegoatUnfairly blamed person
- outcastShunned, rejected person
- underdogPresumed loser beforehand
defenseless · vulnerable · helpless · traumatized · afraid · anxious · isolated · excluded
intimidation
Deliberate fear-inducing pressure
- harassmentAggressive, unwanted targeting
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
- crueltyDeliberate harm-causing disposition
torment · threats · coercion · meanness · malice · hostility · antagonism · persecution · oppression · violence
threaten
Promise harm or punishment
strong-arm · terrorize · pressure · frighten · daunt · overawe · bluster · swagger · loom · glare
taunt
Insulting provocation
belittle · heckle · jeer · sneer · humiliate · demean · deride · insult · badmouth · ostracize
playground
Children's outdoor recreation space
hallway · locker · recess · clique · popular · unpopular · loner · nerd · new kid · teacher
bravo
Acclaim for performers
- good jobApproval for effort
- well doneThoroughly cooked, or congratulations
- excellentOf superior quality
way to go · attaboy · attagirl · hooray · nice work · splendid · capital · first-rate · top-notch
goby
Small coastal fish
- mudskipperAmphibious fish walking on fins
- gudgeonSmall cylindrical pivot pin
target
Object of pursuit
underdog · defenseless · vulnerable · helpless · traumatized · afraid · anxious · isolated · excluded · humiliated
- elementary schoolclassroom, student, first grade teacher, reading skills, teacher
- aggressionhostility, violence, attack, fight, combativeness
- Bullsbull market, bull pen, bull riding, bull run, bull terrier
- informal rolesleader, follower, peacemaker, troublemaker, mediator
- intimidationthreats, threatening, menacing, intimidate, menace
- rule breakersrulebreaker, transgressor, violator, offender, lawbreaker
- workplace bullyingOngoing employee mistreatment at work
- school bullies
- bullying victimTarget of repeated aggression
- bully pulpitProminent position for advocacy
- bully boyIntimidating hired tough
- bullying preventionStopping repeated intimidation
bullying, bullied, bullies, bullyboy, bully pulpit, bullyboys