HECTOR Synonyms: 102 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'hector' distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of hector are badger , bait , chivy , heckle , and hound . While all these words mean "to harass by efforts to break down," hector carries an implication of bullying and domineering. // football players hectored by their coach

Q: Where would 'badger' be a reasonable alternative to 'hector'?

The synonyms badger and hector are sometimes interchangeable, but badger implies pestering so as to drive a person to confusion or frenzy. // badgered her father for a car

Q: When is it sensible to use 'bait' instead of 'hector'?

Although the words bait and hector have much in common, bait implies wanton cruelty or delight in persecuting a helpless victim. // baited the chained dog

Q: When could 'chivy' be used to replace 'hector'?

While the synonyms chivy and hector are close in meaning, chivy suggests persecution by teasing or nagging. // chivied the new student mercilessly

Q: When is 'heckle' a more appropriate choice than 'hector'?

The words heckle and hector can be used in similar contexts, but heckle implies persistent annoying or belligerent interruptions of a speaker. // drunks heckled the stand-up comic

Q: When would 'hound' be a good substitute for 'hector'?

The words hound and hector are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, hound implies unrelenting pursuit and harassing. // hounded by creditors

hector 1 of 2

noun

ˈhek-tər

Definition of hector next

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

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hector

2 of 2

verb

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

Synonym Chooser

How is the word hector distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of hector are badger, bait, chivy, heckle, and hound. While all these words mean "to harass by efforts to break down," hector carries an implication of bullying and domineering.

football players hectored by their coach

Where would badger be a reasonable alternative to hector?

The synonyms badger and hector are sometimes interchangeable, but badger implies pestering so as to drive a person to confusion or frenzy.

badgered her father for a car

When is it sensible to use bait instead of hector?

Although the words bait and hector have much in common, bait implies wanton cruelty or delight in persecuting a helpless victim.

baited the chained dog

When could chivy be used to replace hector?

While the synonyms chivy and hector are close in meaning, chivy suggests persecution by teasing or nagging.

chivied the new student mercilessly

When is heckle a more appropriate choice than hector?

The words heckle and hector can be used in similar contexts, but heckle implies persistent annoying or belligerent interruptions of a speaker.

drunks heckled the stand-up comic

When would hound be a good substitute for hector?

The words hound and hector are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, hound implies unrelenting pursuit and harassing.

hounded by creditors

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 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

Since then, Obama and the Party have lost the hectoring tone. —

Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2024 Greengrass’s attempts to wrap a political statement up in Bourne clothing is awkward and jarring, and the movie is more preachy and hectoring than particularly enlightening. —

Will Leitch, Vulture, 9 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hector

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hector

Noun

The filings portrayed him as a super sensitive creature while the latter came across, fairly or no, like a bully.

— James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025
Why had he been afflicted with a severe stutter that schoolyard bullies had targeted so mercilessly?

— Charlie Campbell, TIME, 28 Jan. 2025