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Hector

(pronounced hek-tur)  verb

Definition

1. to intimidate by loudly arrogant or threatening speeches; to urge or harass by persuasion or coercion.  2. to act in a bullying, blustering manner; swagger.

Main Example

• Ever since the announcement earlier this year of another secret nuclear facility in Iran, the pressuring of that Middle Eastern nation to abandon its quest for nuclear weapons has been stepped up several notches, with even Russia and China--two Security Council members which hitherto had soft-pedaled the issue because of their strong commercial ties to Iran--joining in the hectoring.

Workplace Examples

• People are really happy with the new manager! What a contrast to her predecessor, who was always badgering and hectoring us about something or the other.
• My sister and her husband respond very differently to their children getting hurt while playing: One empathizes and feels their pain, while the other hectors the kids to exercise safety and caution.

Other Examples

• an employee saying: “Stella is not the most pleasant person to work for. She has a rather domineering and hectoring management style.”
• students at a prep school referring to their teacher as “the hector,” thanks to his brusque and bullying style
• in the critically-acclaimed movie “Supersize Me,” Jacob Sullum, a senior editor at Reason magazine, lamenting that it’s considered socially acceptable for even strangers to walk up to smokers and publicly hector them to quit
• in the wake of the recent financial crisis, leaders of China and some other nations beginning to hector the U.S. to bring the world of Wall Street to heel

© 2010 V.J. Singal
No part of this may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the author.