intimidation
n.the act of making someone feel afraid or nervous so they will do what you want. It often involves threats or a scary personality.
n.the action of frightening or overawing someone, especially in order to influence their behaviour or coerce them into a specific course of action.
“The bully used intimidation to get the other children's lunch money.”
“The witness reported that the gang used physical intimidation to prevent people from speaking to the police.”
“Legal experts argue that the subtle atmosphere of intimidation created by the presence of armed guards may have influenced the jury's final decision.”
Often used in the context of law, sports, or workplace harassment; frequently follows the verbs 'use' or 'resort to'.
“A woman, who was arrested for taking photos of jury members outside the courthouse in the Lindsay Clancy trial, has been charged with aggravated intimidation of a juror.”
“In recent months these have addressed unlawful deportations, the intimidation tactics of the far right, Labour’s imitation of the far right, the crackdown on free speech rights and protests for Gaza.”
From intimidate + -ion. Compare French intimidation; perhaps modeled on it.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.