BULLY
bully, bang-up, corking, cracking, dandy, great, groovy, keen, neat, nifty, not bad, peachy, slap-up, swell, smashing, old
(adjective) very good; “he did a bully job”; “a neat sports car”; “had a great time at the party”; “you look simply smashing”; “we had a grand old time”
bully, tough, hooligan, ruffian, roughneck, rowdy, yob, yobo, yobbo
(noun) a cruel and brutal fellow
bully
(noun) a hired thug
browbeat, bully, swagger
(verb) discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate
bully, strong-arm, browbeat, bullyrag, ballyrag, boss around, hector, push around
(verb) be bossy towards; “Her big brother always bullied her when she was young”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
bully (countable and uncountable, plural bullies)
A person who is intentionally, physically, or emotionally cruel to others; especially to those who are weaker or have less power or privilege. [from late 17th c.]
A noisy, blustering fellow, more insolent than courageous; one who is threatening and quarrelsome; an insolent, tyrannical fellow.
A hired thug.
Synonyms: henchman, thug
A sex worker’s minder.
Synonyms: pimp, Thesaurus:pimp
(uncountable) Bully beef.
(obsolete) A brisk, dashing fellow.
The small scrum in the Eton College field game.
Various small freshwater or brackishwater fish of the family Eleotridae; sleeper goby.
(obsolete or dialectal, Irish and Northern England) An (eldest) brother; a fellow workman; comrade
(dialectal) A companion; mate (male or female).
Synonym: Thesaurus:friend
(obsolete) A darling, sweetheart (male or female).
Synonym: Thesaurus:sweetheart
(field hockey) A standoff between two players from the opposing teams, who repeatedly hit each other's hockey sticks and then attempt to acquire the ball, as a method of resuming the game in certain circumstances.
(mining) A miner's hammer.
Verb
bully (third-person singular simple present bullies, present participle bullying, simple past and past participle bullied)
(transitive) To intimidate (someone) as a bully.
Synonym: Thesaurus:intimidate
(transitive) To act aggressively towards.
Synonyms: push around, ride roughshod over
Adjective
bully (comparative bullier, superlative bulliest)
(US, slang) Very good.
Synonyms: excellent, Thesaurus:excellent
(slang) Jovial and blustering.
Synonym: dashing
Interjection
bully
(often, followed by for) Well done!
Synonym: Thesaurus:well done
Source: Wiktionary
Bul"ly, n.; pl. Bullies (. Etym: [Cf. LG. bullerjaan, bullerbäk,
bullerbrook, a blusterer, D. bulderaar a bluster, bulderen to
bluster; prob. of imitative origin; or cf. MHG. buole lover, G.
buhle.]
1. A noisy, blustering fellow, more insolent than courageous; one who
is threatening and quarrelsome; an insolent, tyrannical fellow.
Bullies seldom execute the threats they deal in. Palmerston.
2. A brisk, dashing fellow. [Slang Obs.] Shak.
Bul"ly, a.
1. Jovial and blustering; dashing. [Slang] "Bless thee, bully
doctor." Shak.
2. Fine; excellent; as, a bully horse. [Slang, U.S.]
Bul"ly, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bullied; p. pr. & vb. n. Bullying.]
Definition: To intimidate with threats and by an overbearing, swaggering
demeanor; to act the part of a bully toward.
For the last fortnight there have been prodigious shoals of
volunteers gone over to bully the French, upon hearing the peace was
just signing. Tatler.
Syn.
– To bluster; swagger; hector; domineer.
Bul"ly, v. i.
Definition: To act as a bully.
Bul"ly, n., Bul"ly beef`. [F. bouilli boiled meat, fr. bouillir to
boil. See Boil, v. The word bouilli was formerly commonly used on the
labels of canned beef.]
Definition: Pickled or canned beef.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition