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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

jawboning en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (uncountable, usually) Persistent persuasive talk, particularly (politics, economics) talk that includes implied threats of punitive action, such as tighter government regulation.
    • It's shocking to Douek, because she is a close-watcher of what's known as "jawboning," when regulators or government officials pressure private actors, like a social media company or broadcast network, to stifle speech. The libertarian Cato Institute calls the practice "censorship by proxy." [2025 September 18, Bobby Allyn, “Legal experts say pulling Jimmy Kimmel from air may amount to illegal 'jawboning'”, in Television, NPR, retrieved 18 Sep 2025:
    • Or the merely verbal pressure of jawbonings by prominent people may try to silence a certain point of view. 1991, Terrence E. Cook, The Great Alternatives of Social Thought, page 194:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
jawbonings Number=Plur lexicographic

Coordinates

moral suasion

Hypernyms

persuasion

jawboning en · VERB

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present) present participle and gerund of jawbone
    form of jawbone