bossy
- 01 B1 Intermediate
always telling other people what to do, often when you have no right to give orders.
inclined to give orders or dominate others, especially in a manner that is perceived as intrusive or overbearing.
Simple“My older sister is very bossy and always tells me how to dress.”
In context“The project manager's bossy attitude alienated the creative team, as she frequently dictated minor details that were outside her area of expertise.”
UsageUsually used to describe a person's character or a specific behavior.
Teacher's tipThis word often carries a negative or critical tone; it is rarely used as a compliment.
PitfallHe is a bossy person to his employees. He is bossy with his employees.While you can call someone a 'bossy person', when describing their behavior toward others, use the preposition 'with'.
SynonymsAntonyms
From boss + -y.
Diminutive of dialectal English boss + -y, as used in the term boss-calf (which, like buss-calf, is a variant form of boose-calf, a calf kept in a boose (“stall”)).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.