Synonyms for domineering
- adjective
All synonyms
Adjective
bossy, overbearing, imperious, autocratic, tyrannical, dictatorial, oppressive, haughty, heavy-handed, insolent, authoritarian, supercilious, high-handed, arrogant, assertive, strong-willed, despotic, dominant, pushy, forceful, overweening, arbitrary, uppity, dogmatic, magisterial, commanding, masterful, lordly, hard-handed, upstage, peremptory, regnant, absolute, tyrannous, pompous, authoritative, presumptuous, hubristic, cavalier, hoity-toity, toplofty, imperative, highfalutin, uppish
Definitions
- adj. 1
Overbearing, dictatorial or authoritarian.
Choose the right word
One who is imperious exercises his authority in a manner highly offensive for its spirit and tone; one who is lordly assumes a lofty air in order to display his importance; one who is domineering gives orders in a way to make other feel their inferiority.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Example sentences
- bossy Tom told Mary that he didn't think John was bossy.
- overbearing Tom can be overbearing, but he's a generous man.
- autocratic I recalled her as an energetic, autocratic personality.
- oppressive An oppressive feeling attacked me around the chest.
- tyrannical They dreamed of overthrowing their tyrannical overlord.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| domineering | rising | |
| bossy | rising | |
| overbearing | rising | |
| autocratic | steady | |
| imperious | rising | |
| oppressive | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- bossy2, pushy2
- 6 letters
- uppity3, lordly2, uppish
- 7 letters
- pompous2, haughty2, upstage2, regnant
- 8 letters
- absolute3, dominant3, arrogant3, forceful2, cavalier3, dogmatic3, insolent3, despotic3, toplofty
- 9 letters
- arbitrary4, assertive3, masterful3, imperious4, hubristic, tyrannous
- 10 letters
- commanding3, imperative4, oppressive3, tyrannical4, autocratic4, peremptory4
- 11 letters
- overbearing4, dictatorial5, magisterial5, overweening, highfalutin4
- 12 letters
- presumptuous4, supercilious5
- 13 letters
- authoritarian6, authoritative5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (bossy2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- dominateur