as in bully
a person who teases, threatens, or hurts smaller, weaker, or more vulnerable persons
residents reported on some bullyboys who were causing problems at the park
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bullyboy
Beijing’s bullyboy tactics were starting to hit uncomfortably close to home.
—
Mark L. Clifford, WSJ, 27 Jan. 2022
Barletta was a friend and former student of George Shultz, then U.S. secretary of state, and suddenly critics of Noriega’s bullyboy rule found a more attentive audience within the Reagan administration.
—Glenn Garvin, miamiherald, 30 May 2017
The election campaign was, in retrospect, the ultimate Trump display of bullyboy arrogance.
—Michael D'antonio, CNN, 18 May 2017
Chaffetz’s shtick — bullyboy investigator targeting the right’s bogeymen — worked when Hillary Clinton and/or President Obama were his targets.
—Jennifer Rubin, The Denver Post, 20 Apr. 2017
Mark L. Clifford, WSJ, 27 Jan. 2022
Barletta was a friend and former student of George Shultz, then U.S. secretary of state, and suddenly critics of Noriega’s bullyboy rule found a more attentive audience within the Reagan administration.
—Glenn Garvin, miamiherald, 30 May 2017
The election campaign was, in retrospect, the ultimate Trump display of bullyboy arrogance.
—Michael D'antonio, CNN, 18 May 2017
Chaffetz’s shtick — bullyboy investigator targeting the right’s bogeymen — worked when Hillary Clinton and/or President Obama were his targets.
—Jennifer Rubin, The Denver Post, 20 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bullyboy
Noun
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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
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Why had he been afflicted with a severe stutter that schoolyard bullies had targeted so mercilessly?—
Charlie Campbell,
TIME,
28 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Do Trump and Vance and their administration regard Ukraine as an ally and Putin’s Russia as an enemy?—
Jay Nordlinger,
National Review,
18 Feb. 2025
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At the conclusion of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), dictator Francisco Franco declared victory and punished everyone who had opposed him: imprisonment or execution for those at the top of his enemies list and a purge in employment possibilities for others.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Image In so many ways, Jan. 6 had become part of his brand — a brand in which an attack on the symbol of American democracy became a defense of that same democracy: a blow against political thugs and closet communists, deep-state plots and an unjust justice system.—
Dan Barry,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2025
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The investigation leads Cole into an ugly world of red-neck thugs and disappeared girls.—
Sandra Dallas,
The Denver Post,
2 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near bullyboy
Cite this Entry
“Bullyboy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bullyboy. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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