Definition

Động từ (Verb): - To menace; to intimidate; to threaten: The act of using words, actions, or behavior to frighten someone, to make them feel afraid or coerced, often to force them to do something or to submit.

Usage Examples

• Động từ:
  • Hắn thường giậm dọa người khác để đạt được mục đích. (He often intimidates others to achieve his goals.)
  • Đừng giậm dọa trẻ con như vậy. (Don't threaten children like that.)
  • Không để cho ai giậm dọa mình. (Not to be intimidated by anyone.)

Advanced Usage

• "giậm dọa tinh thần": To psychologically intimidate; to mentally threaten.
  • Những lời nói đó chỉ là giậm dọa tinh thần mà thôi. (Those words are merely psychological intimidation.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dọa nạt (Verb): To threaten; to bully. This is a more common synonym with a very similar meaning.
  • Nó thích dọa nạt bạn bè. (He likes to bully his friends.)
• Hăm dọa (Verb): To menace; to threaten. This is a slightly more literary synonym.
• Đe dọa (Verb): To threaten. This is the most standard and frequently used term for "to threaten" in modern Vietnamese.
  • Hành vi đe dọa là phạm pháp. (Threatening behavior is illegal.)

Synonyms

• Uy hiếp: To coerce; to pressure with force or threat.
• Bắt nạt: To bully (often used in the context of physical or social intimidation, especially among children).

Notes on Usage

• "Giậm dọa" is a verb and is used transitively (it requires a direct object—the person being threatened).
• The word "giậm dọa" is less common in contemporary everyday speech than "đe dọa" or "dọa nạt". It can sometimes carry a nuance of bluster or empty threats, or be used in specific contexts like scolding children.
• It is important to distinguish this word from "dọa" alone, which simply means "to scare" or "to frighten." "Giậm dọa" implies an intention to coerce or subdue through fear.

1. Menace, intimade
   • không để cho ai giậm dọa
     Not to be intimidated by anyone