reduce sb to sth
— phrasal verb with reduce uk/rɪˈdʒuːs/us/rɪˈduːs/verb [ I or T ]
C2 to make someone unhappy or cause someone to be in a bad state or situation:
His comments reduced her to tears (= made her cry).
The sergeant was reduced to the ranks (= made an ordinary soldier) for his cowardice.
C2 If you are reduced to doing something, you are forced to do it because you have no other choice:
He was out of cigarettes and was reduced to smoking the butts left in the ashtrays.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Treating people or animals badly
- a raw deal idiom
- at the hands of sb idiom
- batten
- batten on sb
- be heavy on sb idiom
- bleed
- grind
- jerk
- jerk sb around
- knife
- knock
- knock sb around
- put sb through sth
- shit on sb
- shortchange
- shove
- shove sb around
- smite
- torment
- walk all over sb idiom
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Causing somebody to act