Bully — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a cruel and brutal fellow

a hired thug

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kˈɑːɹbəksˌɪleɪɾɪŋ/

🇬🇧British English

/bˈʊlɪ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/bˈʊlɪ/

2 syllables Say it as /kˈɑːɹbəksˌɪleɪɾɪŋ/.

Examples

Her big brother always bullied her when she was young
he did a bully job
a neat sports car

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

swell strong-arm hector rowdy boss around dandy slap-up browbeat roughneck ruffian tough not bad bang-up nifty groovy smashing peachy ballyrag bullyrag yobo hooligan yob corking great

Parts of Speech

noun	a cruel and brutal fellow
noun	a hired thug
verb	be bossy towards “Her big brother always bullied her when she was young”
verb	discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate
adjective	very good “he did a bully job”

Word Forms

bully	verb	discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate
ruffianly	adjective	violent and lawless
bully	noun	a cruel and brutal fellow

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

schikanieren

ein grausamer und brutaler Kerl

🇫🇷French

intimidateur

un homme cruel et brutal

🇪🇸Spanish

matón

un tipo cruel y brutal

🇮🇹Italian

prepotente

un tipo crudele e brutale

🇳🇱Dutch

pestkop

een wrede en brutale kerel

🇵🇹Portuguese

valentão

um sujeito cruel e brutal

🇷🇺Russian

терроризировать

жестокий и жестокий парень

India

🇮🇳Hindi

धमकाना

एक क्रूर और क्रूर साथी

🇧🇩Bengali

ধমক

একজন নিষ্ঠুর এবং নৃশংস ব্যক্তি

🇮🇳Tamil

கொடுமைப்படுத்துபவர்

ஒரு கொடூரமான மற்றும் மிருகத்தனமான சக

🇮🇳Telugu

వేధించేవాడు

క్రూరమైన మరియు క్రూరమైన సహచరుడు

🇮🇳Marathi

गुंडगिरी

एक क्रूर आणि क्रूर माणूस

🇮🇳Gujarati

દાદાગીરી

એક ક્રૂર અને ઘાતકી સાથી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಬೆದರಿಸುವ

ಕ್ರೂರ ಮತ್ತು ಕ್ರೂರ ಸಹೋದ್ಯೋಗಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ശല്യക്കാരൻ

ക്രൂരനും ക്രൂരനുമായ ഒരു സുഹൃത്ത്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਧੱਕੇਸ਼ਾਹੀ

ਇੱਕ ਬੇਰਹਿਮ ਅਤੇ ਬੇਰਹਿਮ ਸਾਥੀ

🇵🇰Urdu

بدمعاش

ایک ظالم اور سفاک آدمی

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

欺负

一个残酷而残暴的家伙

🇯🇵Japanese

いじめっ子

残酷で残忍な奴

🇰🇷Korean

괴롭히는 사람

잔인하고 잔인한 놈

🇻🇳Vietnamese

bắt nạt

một người độc ác và tàn bạo

🇹🇭Thai

ข่มเหงรังแก

เพื่อนที่โหดร้ายและโหดร้าย

🇮🇩Indonesian

menggertak

orang yang kejam dan brutal

🇲🇾Malay

pembuli

seorang yang kejam dan kejam

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

متنمر

زميل قاسي ووحشي

🇮🇷Persian

قلدر

یک هموطن بی رحم و بی رحم

🇹🇷Turkish

kabadayı

zalim ve acımasız bir arkadaş

🇮🇱Hebrew

בִּריוֹן

בחור אכזרי ואכזרי

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'bully'?

The primary meaning of 'bully' is 'a cruel and brutal fellow'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'bully' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'bully' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'bully' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'bully' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'bully' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'bully' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'bully' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'bully' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'bully' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'bully' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted