strong-arming 1 of 2

noun

as in bullying

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

strong-arming

2 of 2

verb

present participle of strong-arm
as in intimidating
to make timid or fearful by or as if by threats developers trying to strong-arm homeowners into selling their houses at below-market prices

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of strong-arming
Verb
Tech leaders have quietly backed Anthropic, saying that AI isn’t ready for some weapons and that strong-arming companies is counterproductive and antidemocratic. — Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2026 Hezbollah, for the longest time, was strong-arming other parties, and they are accused of assassinating a former Prime Minister. — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strong-arming
  1. bullying
  2. intimidating
  3. threat
  4. coercing
  5. bulldozing
  6. frenzy
  7. revolt
  8. upheaval
Noun
  • The 2025 pageants aired on Queen Beauty Network instead of The CW following the May 2024 resignations of Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava, whose mothers accused organizers of abuse and bullying.
    — Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Their study analyzed more than 2 million chat messages and identified examples involving grooming, sexualization of minors, bullying, violence and sensitive information sharing that escaped moderation.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of bullying
Verb
  • Purdue Every schedule might look intimidating for Purdue, which has lost 18 straight in Big Ten play.
    — Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • For someone searching for a grief community, a grief or trauma support group might seem intimidating.
    — Sneha Dhandapani, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of intimidating
Noun
  • However, the threat of taking California to the Supreme Court may be enough to bring the state’s AG Rob Bonta back to the bargaining table.
    — Jack Dunn, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • For those who pursued advanced degrees in education, the threat of student loans was also a burden.
    — Tania Azhang, Sacbee.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of threat
Verb
  • But in the past, these efforts were largely aimed at threatening or coercing Washington to act in their favor.
    — Dina Esfandiary, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The losses exceed the number of fresh recruits that Moscow can muster, and Russian authorities are coercing men into signing up.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of coercing
Noun
  • Outside, the ceaseless roar of jackhammering and bulldozing went on as the ballroom, challenged by lawsuits and protected by that titanium fencing, took shape.
    — Matt Viser, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026
  • After Douglas, Miami picked up a 6-5 1/2, 261-pound bulldozing blocking tight end in Kacmarek, who can be an asset in paving holes in the run game.
    — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026
Definition of bulldozing
Noun
  • Some market participants are already taking action by betting on a cooling AI frenzy.
    — , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The companies’ interest in the Monarch data center shows how the feeding frenzy for compute has reached a new pitch as AI companies look to nail down capacity amid the AI buildout.
    — J.D. Capelouto, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of frenzy
Noun
  • His experiences span the years leading up to and after the revolt of 1857.
    — Aishwarya Lakshmi, The Conversation, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Democratic primaries have been shaped by a progressive revolt against the party establishment.
    — Chad de Guzman, Time, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of revolt
Noun
  • On his mind are various ideas for addressing social upheaval.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Kyiv, meanwhile, aims to sow economic discontent among Russians with strikes against oil refineries and e-commerce warehouses, but experts argued domestic upheaval is unlikely to change Moscow’s calculus.
    — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of upheaval

Browse Nearby Words

strong-armed
strong-arming
strong-arms
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Strong-arming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strong-arming. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All