Browbeat Someone Into Doing vs. Browbeat Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents browbeat + object + into + -ing for forcing or pressuring someone through threats or forceful, unfair persuasion. Browbeat can also appear transitively without an explicit action complement, so a sentence does not always need into + -ing even though that is the documented pattern for naming the forced action.
Use “browbeat someone into doing something” for the documented complement pattern; do not present “browbeat someone to do” as the parallel construction on this evidence.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| pressure or intimidate a person so an action results | browbeat + person + into + -ing | use the documented complement |
| proposed infinitive alternative | browbeat + person + to-infinitive | do not infer a parallel rule from this evidence |
Quick tests
Complement test
Are you naming the action a person was pressured into performing?
If yes: Use “browbeat someone into doing something.”
If no: If no resulting action is named, use another construction appropriate to the sentence.
Caveat: This guide addresses the reviewed complement pattern; it does not assess the real-world conduct itself.
Examples
They browbeat him into signing the revised agreement.
“Into + -ing” expresses the resulting action.
She felt browbeaten into accepting the deadline.
The passive keeps the same complement pattern.
They browbeat him to sign the revised agreement.
Better: They browbeat him into signing the revised agreement.
Use the documented “into + -ing” pattern for this meaning.
Further guidance
Boundary
Browbeat can also appear transitively without an explicit action complement, so a sentence does not always need into + -ing even though that is the documented pattern for naming the forced action.
Construction
Cambridge directly documents browbeat + object + into + -ing for forcing or pressuring someone through threats or forceful, unfair persuasion.
Decision
Use “browbeat someone into doing something” for the documented complement pattern; do not present “browbeat someone to do” as the parallel construction on this evidence.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- browbeat someone into something/doing something — Cambridge English Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Browbeat + object + into + -ing construction