crybully

C3R1Y4B3U1L1L1Y4

noun

A person who engages in intimidation, harassment, or other abusive behaviour while claiming to be a victim, often using the perceived victimization to induce others to engage in bullying of the intended victim.

Scrabble 18

Meanings

nouncrybully (plural crybullies)

plural crybullies

  1. derogatoryA person who engages in intimidation, harassment, or other abusive behaviour while claiming to be a victim, often using the perceived victimization to induce others to engage in bullying of the intended victim.

    The crybully, who has weaponized his coveted status as a victim, was first sighted in the mid-2000s.

    2015 November 13, Roger Kimball, “The Rise of the College Crybullies”, in The Wall Street Journal
    4 more examples

    Lindros would rather jab a stick at someone retaliating for a fair hit than to wait his turn to get his own in ... Eric is just a bleeping crybaby ... a big bully and like most bullies just can't take it ... likes to dish it but can't take it ... geesh a little guy like Stock gets his goat ...Go in the corner and cry with your crybully with an attitude ...

    1999 October 24, SNUMBER6 [username], “Re: Lindros...”, in alt.sports.hockey.nhl.ny-rangers (Usenet)

    This is the age of the Cry-Bully, a hideous hybrid of victim and victor, weeper and walloper. They are everywhere, these duplicit Pushmi-Pullyus of the personal and the political

    2015 April 21, Julie Burchill, “Meet the Cry-Bully: a hideous hybrid of victim and victor”, in The Spectator

    a cry-bully is someone who will (relentlessly) bully someone but as soon as their victim stands up or slightly resists they will seek out authority with tears in their eyes and a sob story on their lips and just use that to get the authority to punish their victim.

    2015 August 18, “Cyber victim or Cyberbully?”, in Crime and Federalism

    Within hours of the Paris attacks, some of the crybullies behind the recent University of Missouri chaos and the resultant nationwide spate of college protests had vented on Twitter about how their drummed-up, phony-baloney "cause" was more important than Paris.

    2015 November 16, Joe Cooper, “Liberals Still Bowing to Islam After Paris Attacks”, in soc.culture.usa (Usenet)
verbcrybully (third-person singular simple present crybullies, present participle crybullying, simple past and past participle crybullied)

present singular third person crybullies · participle present crybullying · participle past crybullied · past crybullied

  1. informalintransitiveTo engage in behavior characteristic of a crybully; to intimidate, harass or abuse another person or group of people while claiming to be a victim.

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

crybully. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crybully

MLA

“crybully.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crybully. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crybully,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crybully.

Source: crybully on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.