bossyadjective
uk/ˈbɒs.i/us/ˈbɑː.si/disapprovingbossy adjective (PERSON)
B2 A bossy person is always telling people what to do.
Examples
- She's strong without being bossy.
- Stop being so schoolmarmish and bossy!
- Blake may seem bossy, but I'll tell you it's Lisa that really wears the trousers in that relationship.
- My older sister was very bossy.
- Girls of that age can get quite bossy.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Giving orders & commands
- all-points bulletin
- boss
- bossyboots
- chain of command
- charge
- crack the whip idiom
- defy
- demand
- dun
- enjoin
- expect
- forget
- harry
- lay down the law idiom
- mandate
- ordain
- order sb around
- overbearing
- prescribed
- steamroller
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bossy adjective (OBJECT)
US having a raised pattern on the surface
bossily
adverb uk/ˈbɒs.əl.i/us/ˈbɑː.səl.i/
bossiness
noun [ U ] uk/ˈbɒs.i.nəs//ˈbɑː.si.nəs/
Examples from literature
- Aunt Rebecca's funny and bossy but I like to go to her house, it's so little and cute, everything.
- Once they quarreled, and he raged that she was as "bossy" as his wife and far more whining when he was inattentive.
- She's too bossy.
- Terribly particular, you know, and bossy and domineering.
- You are getting mighty bossy since you're able to hobble around, as you call it.
Examples from literature
- Aunt Rebecca's funny and bossy but I like to go to her house, it's so little and cute, everything.
- Once they quarreled, and he raged that she was as "bossy" as his wife and far more whining when he was inattentive.
- She's too bossy.
- Terribly particular, you know, and bossy and domineering.
- You are getting mighty bossy since you're able to hobble around, as you call it.
bossynoun [ C ]
uk/ˈbɒs.i/us/ˈbɑː.si/US informala cow