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Definition 2024


bullier

bullier

English

Adjective

bullier

  1. comparative form of bully: more bully

Noun

bullier (plural bulliers)

  1. (often with of) One who bullies.
    • 1913, Ralph Stock, Marama: a tale of the South Pacific, page 138:
      Neither of us has very much to lose, but a bully — especially a bullier of women — must be a coward
    • 1931, Elizabeth [sic], Father:
      she looked upon Miss Ollier as a bullier of brothers, as a house-tyrant
    • 1946, The Atlantic, volume 178:
      I knew him from previous cases as a heckler, a bullier of witnesses.
    • 1957, Joan Gerstad, The jungle was our home:
      'Suppose Master he no stop here. You hear me talk. Now go shoot pigeon?' I snarled. As I walked away I heard him murmur, 'Yes, sir Missus.' I did not like myself. I was a fishwife and a bullier of natives, I told myself in disgust.
    • 1961, Robert Smith, Baseball in America:
      Anson was a fierce and overbearing "coacher" and a bullier of umpires and opponents.
    • 1992, David H. Demo and Ritch C. Savin-Williams, “Self-Concept Stability and Change during Adolescence”, in Richard P. Lipka and Thomas M. Brinthaupt (editors), Self-Perspectives Across the Life Span, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0-7914-1004-2, page 126:
      Bulliers frequently cause others to feel socially isolated and excluded through verbal, nonverbal, and physical harassment.
    • 2004, Linda Newbery, The Shell House, page 131:
      And that was that: Greg labelled as a dubious character, a bullier of young kids.
    • 2007, Martin Kantor, Lifting the Weight: Understanding Depression in Men, Its Causes and Solutions, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 978-0-275-9937-2-6, page 179:
      [] how cautious one must be when attempting to set limits on bulliers, and how it is sometimes better to be a bit bullied and feel temporarily depressed than to []
    • 2010, Ethan Mordden, The Guest List: How Manhattan Defined American Sophistication—from the Algonquin Round Table to Truman Capote’s Ball, Macmillan, ISBN 978-0-312-54024-1, unnumbered digital page:
      Even so, [Fiorello] La Guardia is commonly known as a bullier of bullies, a power-slinging crime fighter.
    • 2011, Jeffrey Kluger, The Sibling Effect:
      they can be devastating teasers and bulliers

Usage notes

  • Bully is much more common and often preferred.
  • Bullier is used in coordination or contrast with other words ending in "er" and with bullied.
  • Bullier is used with of or a possessive to identify or characterize the bully by the identity of the target. Bully is not usually used in this way.