Hectoring

adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of one who hectors, or acts blusteringly.

    "their hectorings against an absent enemy, and their pusillanimity on his approach"

Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of hector form-of, gerund, participle, present
Adjective
  1. 1
    That hectors; intimidating or domineering.

    "The types that started using “-maxxing” in earnest often did so with such hectoring self-seriousness that it was impossible not to parody."

Example

More examples

"I will no longer be intimidated by your hectoring."

Etymology

From hector + -ing.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.