intimidate
part of speech
verb (intimidate, intimidates, intimidated, intimidating); adjectives «intimidating», «intimidated»; noun «intimidation»
meaning for a pupil
1) To frighten or threaten someone, especially to make them do what you want. tree →
2) To make someone feel nervous, shy or less confident, even without meaning to. tree →
sense in the lessons
A key word in anti-bullying lessons: bullies intimidate by threats, staring, crowding round someone or online messages. In sport, players try to intimidate opponents with loud shouts. In everyday life, something big or new can be «intimidating»: a new school, a hard test, a big dog. Phrases: «intimidate someone into doing something», «feel intimidated», «an intimidating task».
examples
- The older boys tried to intimidate him into giving them his lunch money. tree →
- Don't let anyone intimidate you – tell a teacher. tree →
- The big dog's growl intimidated the postman. tree →
- I felt intimidated on my first day at the new school. tree →
- The team's haka can intimidate their opponents. tree →
- The long maths test looked intimidating, but it was fine. tree →
- Intimidating someone online is still bullying. tree →
note
Regular verb. «Intimidating» = causing fear (an intimidating teacher); «intimidated» = feeling fear (I was intimidated). Intimidation is a form of bullying and can be a crime among adults. Not related to «intimate» (very close or private), although they look alike.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «intimidate» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.