Intimidate Someone Into Doing vs. Intimidate Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents intimidate + object + into + -ing for persuading someone to act through fear or threats. Intimidate also works transitively without an explicit action complement, so a sentence can name the target of intimidation without specifying the resulting action.
Use “intimidate someone into doing something” for the directly documented action complement; do not imply that “intimidate someone to do” is equally licensed by this evidence.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| pressure or frighten a person so that the person acts | intimidate + person + into + -ing | Use “intimidate someone into doing something.” |
| attempt to use a bare person + to-infinitive as the same complement | intimidate + person + to do | Do not treat this as equally licensed by the reviewed evidence. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you naming an action someone was pressured or frightened into performing?
If yes: Use “intimidate + person + into + -ing.”
If no: Recast rather than assuming “intimidate someone to do” is the equivalent complement.
Caveat: This guide is about the documented complement pattern, not every possible use of “intimidate.”
Examples
They tried to intimidate the witness into changing her statement.
The action follows “into” plus -ing.
The threat intimidated several residents into leaving early.
The affected people are followed by “into leaving.”
He refused to be intimidated into signing immediately.
The passive keeps the same into + -ing pattern.
Further guidance
Boundary
Intimidate also works transitively without an explicit action complement, so a sentence can name the target of intimidation without specifying the resulting action.
Construction
Cambridge directly documents intimidate + object + into + -ing for persuading someone to act through fear or threats.
Decision
Use “intimidate someone into doing something” for the directly documented action complement; do not imply that “intimidate someone to do” is equally licensed by 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.
- intimidate someone into something/doing something — Cambridge English Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Intimidate + object + into + -ing construction