EN

Synonyms for bully

  • adjective
  • noun
  • verb

Most common

cracking

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Slap-up — very good

slap-up informal, excellent, great, gurt UK, not bad, dandy, bang-up informal, crack-a-jack, crackerjack US, good, old, superior, smashing, out of sight, super, fine, well-done, first-rate, admirable, cracking, keen, superb, stunning, splendid

Other

jolly, dashing

Noun

1. Hooligan

hooligan, rowdy, tough, yob, roughneck, ruffneck US, rough, yobo

2. Thug — A hired thug

thug, hoodlum, henchman

3. Ruffian — A sex worker's minder

pimp, ruffian dated

4. Braggart

braggart, braggadocio, blusterer, swaggerer, roisterer, blatherskite, vaporer US, vapourer UK

Other

pander, ducky, swashbuckler, browbeater, victimizer, victimiser UK, hotspur dated

Verb

1. Intimidate — to intimidate (someone) as a bully

intimidate, hector, brow-beat, strong-arm, terrorize UK US, terrorise UK, cow, coerce, boss around, bluster, menace, domineer, daunt, bullyrag, ballyrag, bulldoze slang dated US

2. Push around — to act aggressively towards

push around, ride roughshod over

Other

swagger, brag, pick at, vapor US, vapour UK, overbear

Antonyms

mediocre, crapo

All antonyms of bully →

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    Very good.

  2. n. 1

    A hired thug.

  3. n. 2

    A sex worker's minder.

  4. v. 1

    To intimidate (someone) as a bully.

    You shouldn't bully people for being weak.

Related words

Phrases
bully boy bully tree white bully bully beef bastard bully tree bully off

Forms

Plural
bullies → hooligans, rowdies, toughs, yobs…
Past participle
bullied
e.g. bullied → intimidated, hectored, brow-beaten, strong-armed…

Example sentences

  • cracking One of Tom's bad habits is cracking his knuckles.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
bullyrising
crackingfalling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters
old1, cow1, yob
4 letters
good1, fine1, keen1, thug1, brag1, pimp1, yobo, gurt
5 letters
great1, super2, tough1, rough1, jolly2, vapor2, dandy2, rowdy2, ducky2, daunt1
6 letters
superb2, hector2, menace2, vapour, coerce2, pander2
7 letters
dashing2, swagger2, hotspur, bluster2, ruffian, hoodlum2, vaporer
8 letters
superior4, stunning2, cracking2, splendid2, smashing2, henchman2, hooligan3, bulldoze2, braggart, overbear, ruffneck, domineer3, vapourer, bullyrag
9 letters
excellent3, admirable4, terrorize3, terrorise, roughneck2, blusterer, swaggerer, roisterer
10 letters
intimidate4, victimizer, browbeater, victimiser
11 letters
crackerjack3, braggadocio5
12 letters
swashbuckler, blatherskite

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (super2 = 2 syllables).