to ballyrag
- verb
- /ˈbælɪræɡ/
- Archaic
:
acosar
- She always ballyrags her coworkers for minor mistakes.
Examples
-
Tired of being ballyragged by her peers, she finally stood up for herself.
-
The older boys used to ballyrag the younger students after class.
-
He was known to ballyrag his staff whenever he was in a bad mood.
-
Don't ballyrag him like that!
-
The manager tends to ballyrag his employees during stressful deadlines.
-
It was difficult for her to focus on her work with her colleague constantly trying to ballyrag her.
-
He didn't like how the coach would ballyrag the players when they made mistakes.
Synonyms
302
4.0
Annoy someone again and again to make them feel worried or uncomfortable
68
3.8
To scare or hurt someone, often someone weaker
66
5.6
To treat someone in a bossy way so they do what you want
62
7.5
To annoy someone by criticizing them again and again
37
4.5
Tell people what to do in a rude way when you have no right
15
7.5
To force someone to do something by threats or violence
9
8.1
To make someone do something by threatening them or using angry words
8
2.6
To keep criticizing or telling someone to do things in an annoying way
7
8.9
To speak angrily to someone for a long time
6
8.2
To force someone to do something by threats or strong pressure
4
9.8
To tease someone again and again with small mean remarks
3
7.6
To bother someone again and again so they feel upset or tired
3
8.0
To annoy someone with small, repeated complaints
3
8.4
To be bossy and scare someone into doing what you want
3
8.8
To scold someone strongly for something they did wrong
2
8.6
To trouble or annoy someone again and again
To frighten or shout at someone to make them do what you want
Saying things that make fun of someone to upset them
Antonyms
How Harsh
Surface Forms
Etymology
Ballyrag probably comes from two parts: bally, a mild British swear like 'bloody', and rag, as in 'to rag on someone', meaning 'to tease or scold'. So to ballyrag someone is to bully or scold them, which explains its modern use.