Meaning of "bully" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD BULLY

(Sweetheart, hence fine fellow, hence swaggering coward): probably from Middle Dutch boele lover, from Middle High German buole, perhaps childish variant of bruoderbrother.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF BULLY

bully  [ˈbʊlɪ]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF BULLY

Bully is a verb and can also act as a noun, an adjective and an exclamation.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb bully in English.

Exclamation is an expression or voice that reflects an emotion or exaltation.

WHAT DOES BULLY MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Bully

A bully is someone responsible for bullying, a form of aggressive behavior manifested by the use of force or coercion to affect others. Bully may also refer to...

Definition of bully in the English dictionary

The first definition of bully in the dictionary is a person who hurts, persecutes, or intimidates weaker people. Other definition of bully is a hired ruffian. Bully is also a procurer; pimp.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO BULLY

PRESENT

Present

I bully

you bully

he/she/it bullies

we bully

you bully

they bully

Present continuous

I am bullying

you are bullying

he/she/it is bullying

we are bullying

you are bullying

they are bullying

Present perfect

I have bullied

you have bullied

he/she/it has bullied

we have bullied

you have bullied

they have bullied

Present perfect continuous

I have been bullying

you have been bullying

he/she/it has been bullying

we have been bullying

you have been bullying

they have been bullying

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I bullied

you bullied

he/she/it bullied

we bullied

you bullied

they bullied

Past continuous

I was bullying

you were bullying

he/she/it was bullying

we were bullying

you were bullying

they were bullying

Past perfect

I had bullied

you had bullied

he/she/it had bullied

we had bullied

you had bullied

they had bullied

Past perfect continuous

I had been bullying

you had been bullying

he/she/it had been bullying

we had been bullying

you had been bullying

they had been bullying

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will bully

you will bully

he/she/it will bully

we will bully

you will bully

they will bully

Future continuous

I will be bullying

you will be bullying

he/she/it will be bullying

we will be bullying

you will be bullying

they will be bullying

Future perfect

I will have bullied

you will have bullied

he/she/it will have bullied

we will have bullied

you will have bullied

they will have bullied

Future perfect continuous

I will have been bullying

you will have been bullying

he/she/it will have been bullying

we will have been bullying

you will have been bullying

they will have been bullying

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would bully

you would bully

he/she/it would bully

we would bully

you would bully

they would bully

Conditional continuous

I would be bullying

you would be bullying

he/she/it would be bullying

we would be bullying

you would be bullying

they would be bullying

Conditional perfect

I would have bully

you would have bully

he/she/it would have bully

we would have bully

you would have bully

they would have bully

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been bullying

you would have been bullying

he/she/it would have been bullying

we would have been bullying

you would have been bullying

they would have been bullying

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you bully
we let´s bully
you bully

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to bully

Past participle

bullied

Present Participle

bullying

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «BULLY»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «bully» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of bully

bravo · browbeat · browbeater · bulldoze · bullyrag · capital · coerce · coercer · cow · domineer · dragoon · force · good · grand · great · hector · hound · ill-treat · intimidate · intimidator · maltreat · oppress · oppressor · overbear · persecute · persecutor · pick on · press-gang · pressurize · railroad · ride roughshod over · ruffian · terrorize · torment · tormentor · tough · tyrannize · victimize

TRANSLATION OF BULLY

Find out the translation of bully to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of bully from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «bully» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 欺凌弱小者
• Translator English - Spanish: matón
• English: bully
• Translator English - Hindi: धमकाने
• Translator English - Arabic: بَلْطَجِي
• Translator English - Russian: задира
• Translator English - Portuguese: rufião
• Translator English - Bengali: চমত্কার
• Translator English - French: brute
• Translator English - Malay: Pembuli
• Translator English - German: Tyrann
• Translator English - Japanese: 弱い者いじめをする者
• Translator English - Korean: 불량배
• Translator English - Javanese: Nelangsa
• Translator English - Vietnamese: kẻ hay bắt nạt
• Translator English - Tamil: புல்லி
• Translator English - Marathi: दादागिरी
• Translator English - Turkish: zorba
• Translator English - Italian: bullo
• Translator English - Polish: łobuz
• Translator English - Ukrainian: хуліган
• Translator English - Romanian: bătăuș
• Translator English - Greek: νταής
• Translator English - Afrikaans: boelie
• Translator English - Swedish: översittare
• Translator English - Norwegian: bølle

10 QUOTES WITH «BULLY»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word bully.

1

Shawn Amos

Protest is patriotic. Since the beginning of musical time, American singers and songwriters have used their talent and bully pulpits to show us America's strengths and shortcomings.

2

Roseanne Barr

Patriarchy is a bully notion, which if you will notice never attacks a nation that can defend itself. Zionism is patriarchal and sets Judaism on its head.

3

Max Baucus

I know the problem of obesity. I got to tell you, I think that's tepid. I just don't think the bully pulpit is going to be enough to sufficiently fight obesity. We're going to have to have incentives in here.

4

Nicole Beharie

I was kind of a bully, even though I'm tiny, 5' 2". As a child, I'd boss other kids around and dress my little brother up, just putting on shows, singing and dressing up.

5

Elizabeth Berkley

We're not excusing the ones who are mean, but I want girls to understand the psychology. It's not in everyone. But the bully needs to put this pain somewhere.

6

Jack Bowman

My parents were laborers so we lived on South Park, which was a low-income region of Seattle. You had a choice - you either joined or formed a gang or you let others bully you.

7

Pierce Brown

A lot of times, you had to beat the bullies at their own game. But the difficulty is not becoming the bully yourself.

8

Bo Burnham

Comedy should be a source of positivity. I don't want to bully people, and I don't want people to come to my show to feel terrible about something. So I'm actually very open to having a conversation about what I should or shouldn't say.

9

Octavia E. Butler

Not everyone has been a bully or the victim of bullies, but everyone has seen bullying, and seeing it, has responded to it by joining in or objecting, by laughing or keeping silent, by feeling disgusted or feeling interested.

10

James Corden

You can either hope and pray you don't get picked on, or you can, in a way, almost make yourself a bigger target, because it's harder to bully something that's really big. It's easy to bully something that's small and frail.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «BULLY»

Discover the use of bully in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to bully and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

The Ant Bully

Lucas learns a lesson about bullying when he is pulled into the ant hole he has been tormenting.

‎1999

My Secret Bully

A girl confides to her mother that her best friend is treating her badly, and together they figure out what to do about it in a story that also includes a note to parents and teachers, as well as related resources.

Trudy Ludwig, 2005

The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, ...

The Bully Pulpit is also the story of the muckraking press, which arouses the spirit of reform that helps Roosevelt push the government to shed its laissez-faire attitude toward robber barons, corrupt politicians, and corporate exploiters ...

Doris Kearns Goodwin, 2013

Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories

Today's top authors for teens and young people come together to share their stories about bullying—as bystanders, as victims, and as the bullies themselves—in this moving and deeply personal collection.

Megan Kelley Hall, Carrie Jones, 2011

Jake Drake, Bully Buster

Who did the teacher assign to be Link's partner? You guessed it. Jake has to use all his smarts -- and his heart as well -- to turn himself from Jake Drake, Bully Magnet, to Jake Drake, Bully Buster.

Andrew Clements, 2012

Bully

Stories of young children who get angry and pick on someone else provide questions for a discussion on bullies.

Janine Amos, 2006

The Bully

After Darrell Mercer and his mother move from Philadelphia to California in the middle of the school year, the ninth-grader quickly becomes a target for the freshman class bully, Tyray Hobbs.

Paul Langan, 2002

How to Beat the Bully Without Really Trying

Rodney, a self-admitted coward, moves to Ohio where the middle school bully immediately singles him out, but when a stray baseball knocks the bully out just as he is about to beat Rodney up, Rodney gains an undeserved reputation as a tough ...

Scott Starkey, 2012

Bully: Does Anyone Deserve to Die?

Booby Kent was a bully--a steroid-pumped 20-year-old who dominated his peers in their comfortable, middle-class Ft. Lauderdale beach community through psychological, physical and sexual abuse.

Jim Schutze, 1998

The Bully Society: School Shootings and the Crisis of ...

The Bully Society is a call to reclaim America's schools from the vicious cycle of aggression that threatens our children and our society at large. Heartbreaking interviews illum.

Jessie Klein, 2012

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «BULLY»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term bully is used in the context of the following news items.

Child Bully Fights Pro Boxer: Dad Sets Up Match To Teach Son A …

As soon as the pro boxer entered the ring, he started pounding his sparring headgear – perhaps to intimidate the young bully before the actual ... «The Inquisitr, Jul 15»

Taxis bully Uber

"This is nothing but bully-boy tactics. Its absurd to think that they thought they could physically beat me into their taxi." Last night, an Uber driver, ... «Times LIVE, Jul 15»

Dad Teaches Bully-Son A Lesson, Makes Him Go Toe-To-Toe With …

It isn't very often that you hear “World Star Hip Hop” and “good parenting” mentioned in the same story, but this next video just goes to show that ... «Daily Caller, Jul 15»

SoundCheck: Bully brings analog back to life with debut LP

Those are the three words that Bully songwriter Alicia Bognanno uses to describe her band's first full-length album, Feels Like. “I'm very proud ... «USA TODAY College, Jul 15»

State of Origin 2015 Game 3: How Maroons will try and bully their …

THIS is the ugly image that shows how Queensland try to harass, intimidate and influence referees. And, sadly, it seems their tactic has worked. «The Daily Telegraph, Jul 15»

Why the International Criminal Court is NOT a bully

SA politicians defend Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, saying the ICC is a bully and targets Africa. A human rights media trainer disagrees. «Rand Daily Mail, Jul 15»

Future Is Now: Eves the Behavior, Bully, Knxwledge, Fraser A …

WHY YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION: During her internship at Electrical Audio studio, Bully lead singer Alicia Bognanno [pictured above] ... «Rolling Stone Australia, Jul 15»

Bully Taught a Lesson When He Is Made to Fight Pro Boxer

However, a little bit into the fight, it seemed that another, younger kid stepped in and went whole hog on the bully in question. The dad can be ... «Total Pro Sports, Jul 15»

A Teen's Perspective: What is Bullying to Me?

As part of our summer initiative and our everlasting stream of creative ideas, the Bulldog team decided to include a few new faces to our Bully ... «ChicagoNow, Jul 15»

Lenovo ups 'cool' quotient with calm female bully-basher

Lenovo has rolled out a second film for the next generation of its Yoga laptops. The film has been conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather and will ... «Campaign India, Jul 15»