intimidate

in·tim·i·date
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US, UK/ɪnˈtɪmɪdeɪt/US, UK[ɪnˈtʰɪmɪdeɪ̯t]British, Southern, Standard/ɪnˈtɪmɪdɛjt/Australia/ənˈtɪmədæɪt/

verb

To make timid or afraid; to cause to feel fear or nervousness; to deter, especially by threats of violence.

“He's trying to intimidate you. If you ignore him, hopefully he'll stop.”

Similar
abashbuffalobulldozebullybrowbeatcowdastardizedaunt
OriginMedieval Latin intimidātus ← Latin intimidō →
Less commonScrabble 13
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Meanings

verbintimidate (third-person singular simple present intimidates, present participle intimidating, simple past and past participle intimidated)

present singular third person intimidates · participle present intimidating · participle past intimidated · past intimidated

  1. transitiveTo make timid or afraid; to cause to feel fear or nervousness; to deter, especially by threats of violence.

    He's trying to intimidate you. If you ignore him, hopefully he'll stop.

    1 more example

    His father tried to intimidate his son into staying, threatening him with banishment and a possible beating.

    2018, Nnedi Okorafor, Who Fears Death, HarperVoyager, page 168

    Synonyms: abash, buffalo, bulldoze, bully, browbeat, cow, dastardize, daunt

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo make timid or afraid; to cause to feel fear or nervousness; to deter, especially by threats of violence.

Similar
abashbuffalobulldozebullybrowbeatcowdastardizedauntdisheartendo downdomineerdrivehectormenacestrong-arm
Also see
browbeatbuffalobullycowdrive

Origin

  1. Latinintimidō“to intimidate, terrify”
  2. Medieval Latinintimidātus
  3. Englishintimidate

From Medieval Latin intimidātus, perfect passive participle of Latin intimidō (“to intimidate, terrify”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from in- (“in”) + timidus (“afraid, timid”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix); see timid.

More words from Medieval Latin, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἐκφοβέω
  • ἐκφοβέω (ekphobéō)to make timid or fearful
Arabic أَخَافَ, أَرْعَبَ
  • أَخَافَ (ʔaḵāfa)to make timid or fearful
  • أَرْعَبَ (ʔarʕaba)to make timid or fearful
  • خَوَّفَ (ḵawwafa)to make timid or fearful
  • أَرْهَبَ (ʔarhaba)to make timid or fearful
Bulgarian пла́ша, спла́швам
  • пла́ша (pláša)to make timid or fearful
  • спла́швам (splášvam)to make timid or fearful
  • спла́ша (spláša)to make timid or fearful
  • изпла́швам (izplášvam)to make timid or fearful
  • изпла́ша (izpláša)to make timid or fearful
Catalan intimidar
  • intimidarto make timid or fearful
Chinese Mandarin 威脅 /威胁, 恐嚇 /恐吓
  • 威脅 /威胁 (wēixié)to make timid or fearful
  • 恐嚇 /恐吓 (kǒnghè)to make timid or fearful
Czech zastrašovat, zastrašit
  • zastrašovatto make timid or fearful
  • zastrašitto make timid or fearful
Danish skræmme
  • skræmmeto make timid or fearful
Dutch intimideren, inschuchteren
  • intimiderento make timid or fearful
  • inschuchterento make timid or fearful
Esperanto timigi
  • timigito make timid or fearful
Estonian hirmutama, heidutama
  • hirmutamato make timid or fearful
  • heidutamato make timid or fearful
Finnish pelotella, uhkailla
  • pelotellato make timid or fearful
  • uhkaillato make timid or fearful
French intimider
  • intimiderto make timid or fearful
German einschüchtern
  • einschüchternto make timid or fearful
Greek εκφοβίζω
  • εκφοβίζω (ekfovízo)to make timid or fearful
Hebrew הפחיד, איים
  • הפחיד (hifkhíd)to make timid or fearful
  • איים (iyém)to make timid or fearful
Hindi धमकाना
  • धमकाना (dhamkānā)to make timid or fearful
Hungarian megfélemlít
  • megfélemlítto make timid or fearful
Italian intimidire
  • intimidireto make timid or fearful
Japanese 脅す, 威嚇する
  • 脅す (odosu)to make timid or fearful
  • 威嚇する (ikaku suru)to make timid or fearful
Korean 협박하다, 위협하다
  • 협박하다 (hyeopbakhada)to make timid or fearful
  • 위협하다 (wihyeophada)to make timid or fearful
Lithuanian įbauginti
  • įbaugintito make timid or fearful
Māori whakaweti, whakahakahaka
  • whakawetito make timid or fearful
  • whakahakahakato make timid or fearful
  • kapatauto make timid or fearful
Norwegian Bokmål skremme
  • skremmeto make timid or fearful
Polish zastraszać, zastraszyć
  • zastraszaćto make timid or fearful
  • zastraszyćto make timid or fearful
Portuguese intimidar, amedrontar
  • intimidarto make timid or fearful
  • amedrontarto make timid or fearful
Romanian intimida
  • intimidato make timid or fearful
Russian пуга́ть, испуга́ть
  • пуга́ть (pugátʹ)to make timid or fearful
  • испуга́ть (ispugátʹ)to make timid or fearful
  • запу́гивать (zapúgivatʹ)to make timid or fearful
  • запуга́ть (zapugátʹ)to make timid or fearful
  • устраша́ть (ustrašátʹ)to make timid or fearful
  • устраши́ть (ustrašítʹ)to make timid or fearful
Slovak zastrašovať, zastrašiť
  • zastrašovaťto make timid or fearful
  • zastrašiťto make timid or fearful
Spanish intimidar, amedrentar
  • intimidarto make timid or fearful
  • amedrentarto make timid or fearful
Swedish skrämma
  • skrämmato make timid or fearful
Thai ขู่, ข่มขู่
  • ขู่ (kùu)to make timid or fearful
  • ข่มขู่ (kòm-kùu)to make timid or fearful
Turkish sindirmek, yıldırmak
  • sindirmekto make timid or fearful
  • yıldırmakto make timid or fearful
Ukrainian поло́хати, споло́хувати
  • поло́хати (polóxaty)to make timid or fearful
  • споло́хувати (spolóxuvaty)to make timid or fearful
  • споло́хати (spolóxaty)to make timid or fearful
  • страха́ти (straxáty)to make timid or fearful
  • страши́ти (strašýty)to make timid or fearful
  • застраши́ти (zastrašýty)to make timid or fearful
  • ляка́ти (ljakáty)to make timid or fearful
  • заля́кувати (zaljákuvaty)to make timid or fearful
  • заляка́ти (zaljakáty)to make timid or fearful
Urdu دھمکانا
  • دھمکانا (dhamkānā)to make timid or fearful
Vietnamese dọa nạt, hăm dọa
  • dọa nạtto make timid or fearful
  • hăm dọato make timid or fearful
  • trộto make timid or fearful
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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