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
Examples Sentences
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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
Will Leitch, Vulture, 9 Aug. 2024
Into this hallucination comes rival Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), perhaps a badder witch than Agatha, in the guise of a federal agent, who will hector Agatha back in the relatively real world.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 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
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
Into this hallucination comes rival Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), perhaps a badder witch than Agatha, in the guise of a federal agent, who will hector Agatha back in the relatively real world.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hector
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hector
Noun
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Randle's bully ball and inattentive defense are mucking everything up.Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025
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She’s encountered everything from misguided but well-intentioned curiosity about her disability to bullies and know-it-alls who ask her where her glasses are.Angela Haupt, TIME, 6 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Tough competition, top golf Despite the strength of the field, Ribeiro says he isn’t intimidated and focuses on having fun while also trying to be competitive.Andy Frye, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
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However, Schenker says the organization’s ability to intimidate Lebanon’s population is diminishing.Efrat Lachter, Fox News, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The system is often the enemy in Eastwood’s movies.A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2025
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Historically the enemies of Christian America were secular humanists, feminists and then more recently Democrats and the woke.John Blake, CNN, 12 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Marina, frightened, fled the spa, almost leaving behind her shirt, and spent the next hour looking over her shoulder to see whether the woman had, in fact, called someone.Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2025
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Some frightened residents even abandoned their cars on one of the only roads in and out of the upscale Pacific Palisades area, fleeing on foot from the engulfing blaze.Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2025
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Thesaurus Entries Near hector
Cite this Entry
“Hector.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hector. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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