as in bully
a person who teases, threatens, or hurts smaller, weaker, or more vulnerable persons
law penalizing debt collection agencies that operate like hectors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to intimidate
to make timid or fearful by or as if by threats
the judge warned the attorney that hectoring the witness with aggressive questioning would not be allowed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of hector
The Economist, 18 July 2017
Trump’s proposals to match China’s import fees and to hector companies into keeping jobs in the United States represent a huge threat to the mercantilist Asian economic model.
—Joel Kotkin, Orange County Register, 2 Apr. 2017
Nirupama Rao, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2023
Since then, Obama and the Party have lost the hectoring tone.
—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hector
Noun
THE young woman with the microphone cajoles, hectors and wheedles customers with the breathless enthusiasm of a livestock auctioneer at a county fair.
—The Economist, 18 July 2017
Trump’s proposals to match China’s import fees and to hector companies into keeping jobs in the United States represent a huge threat to the mercantilist Asian economic model.
—Joel Kotkin, Orange County Register, 2 Apr. 2017
Verb
But Indians have little patience for being hectored about their democracy, especially from a country where insurrectionists recently breached the capitol and where racial inequalities run deep.
—Nirupama Rao, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2023
Since then, Obama and the Party have lost the hectoring tone.
—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for hector
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hector
Noun
-
Not for the first time, the violence of a bullying threat is directly proportional to the vulnerability that’s been exposed in the bully.—
Daniel Mendelsohn,
New Yorker,
31 Mar. 2025
-
Trump’s habit of threatening tariffs to bully other nations into cooperation with his policy goals, then retreating, then threatening again and sometimes actually imposing stiff levies, has unnerved investors, throwing the stock market into a period of volatility.—
Hank Tucker,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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And, Wright says, human therapists should not be intimidated by their AI counterparts.—
Katia Riddle,
NPR,
7 Apr. 2025
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For the past year and a half, our Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim community at Microsoft has been silenced, intimidated, harassed, and doxxed, with impunity from Microsoft.—
Jordan Novet,Hayden Field,
CNBC,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Over the past few weeks, President Trump has used executive orders to wage war on law firms, specifically targeting those whose lawyers have investigated or sued him, or represented his enemies in court.—
Michael Barbaro,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
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After an all-out war between Jacob and his enemies, scores of lifeless bodies are left on the platform in a win for the current and future Duttons, including that of Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn).—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Apr. 2025
Verb
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For the most part, yes, although children ages 8 and younger might be frightened by some of the action sequences.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2025
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Despite these protections on paper, permanent residents and visa-holders have been frightened by the speed and ferocity of the Trump administration’s crackdown and its bulldozing of due process rights, said Neil A. Weinrib, an immigration attorney for more than four decades.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
1 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hector.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hector. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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