intimidate

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intimidate

/ɪnˈtɪmɪdeɪt/ US, UK
[ɪnˈtʰɪmɪdeɪ̯t] US, UK
/ɪnˈtɪmɪdɛjt/ British, Southern, Standard
/ənˈtɪmədæɪt/ Australia
/ənˈtəmədæɪt/ New Zealand
/ɪnˈtɪmɪdet/ Scotland
/ɪnˈtɪmɪdeːt/ Wales

Where it comes from

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.

verb intimidates · intimidating · intimidated

transitive 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: abash, buffalo, bulldoze, bully, browbeat, cow, dastardize, daunt, dishearten, do down, domineer, drive

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: restrain, terrorize, terrorise, frighten, terrify, scare, daunting, threatening, daunt, harass, threaten, threat, browbeat, bullying, bully, deter

Translations

Every language

verb to make timid or fearful

Español	intimidar, amedrentar
한국어	협박하다 hyeopbakhada, 위협하다 wihyeophada
日本語	脅す odosu, 威嚇する ikaku suru
中文	威脅 /威胁 wēixié, 恐嚇 /恐吓 kǒnghè
हिन्दी	धमकाना dhamkānā
Português	intimidar, amedrontar
Français	intimider
Deutsch	einschüchtern
Italiano	intimidire
Ελληνικά	εκφοβίζω ekfovízo
Română	intimida
Русский	пуга́ть pugátʹ, испуга́ть ispugátʹ, запу́гивать zapúgivatʹ, запуга́ть zapugátʹ, устраша́ть ustrašátʹ, устраши́ть ustrašítʹ
Tiếng Việt	dọa nạt, hăm dọa, trộ
العربية	أَخَافَ ʔaḵāfa, أَرْعَبَ ʔarʕaba, خَوَّفَ ḵawwafa, أَرْهَبَ ʔarhaba
עברית	הפחיד hifkhíd, איים iyém

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MLA

"intimidate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/intimidate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

intimidate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/intimidate

Chicago

"intimidate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/intimidate.

BibTeX

@misc{intimidate_2026,
  title = {intimidate},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/intimidate},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}