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intimidating

/ɪnˈtɪmɪdeɪɾɪŋ/
/ɪnˈtɪmɪdeɪtɪŋ/
IPA guide

Other forms: intimidatingly

Someone or something that causes fear is intimidating. Bullies are intimidating.

Anyone or anything that is fearsome, daunting, or terrifying could be called intimidating. Looking at a huge list of vocabulary words is intimidating. Any difficult job can be intimidating. Lots of people find public speaking intimidating. Climbing into the mouth of a volcano and trying to take a photograph for National Geographic would be extremely intimidating, because you could die, and if you don't, what if your pictures aren't that good?

Definitions of intimidating
  1. adjective
    discouraging through fear
    synonyms: daunting
    discouraging
    depriving of confidence or hope or enthusiasm and hence often deterring action
Pronunciation
US
/ɪnˈtɪmɪdeɪɾɪŋ/
UK
/ɪnˈtɪmɪdeɪtɪŋ/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘intimidating'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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