Intimidate
/ɪnˈtɪmɪdeɪt/noun
To frighten or overawe someone, especially to make them do what you want.
Did you know?The word entered English through legal and formal language, where intimidation meant influencing someone through fear rather than physical force.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Italic
Proto-Italic
*tīmos
“Fear or dread; the proposed ancestral form behind Latin fear-words”
Classical Latin
Latin
timēre
“To fear or be afraid”
Classical Latin
Latin
timidus
“Fearful, timid, or easily frightened”
Late Latin
Latin
intimidāre
“To make fearful; to frighten”
17th Century
English
intimidate
“To frighten or overawe”
Modern English
English
intimidate
“To use fear or pressure to influence someone”