as in jackbooted
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ironfisted
Adjective
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Cooper was obsessed with the New World Order and the actions of jackbooted government enforcers against the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, and white separatist Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge, Idaho.—
Andrew Stuttaford,
WSJ,
19 Sep. 2018 -
Hungary under his rule is far from a jackbooted dictatorship, but its democracy is diverging markedly from that of many of its partners in the European Union.—
Ishaan Tharoor,
Washington Post,
6 Apr. 2018
Adjective
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Contracts of adhesion are sometimes seen as oppressive, especially in the consumer context, but courts often regard them as enforceable.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
20 May 2025
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The United States held Qaddafi’s Libya up as a success story in the global war on terror, a former rogue state that had made amends for its murderous past, relinquished its nuclear-weapons program and reoriented its oppressive state apparatus around American foreign-policy priorities.—
Henry Leutwyler Robert Petkoff Emma Kehlbeck Quinton Kamara,
New York Times,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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The global institutions that traditionally restrain both secessionist overreach and heavy-handed repression are losing their power to constrain either.—
Ryan D. Griffiths,
Foreign Affairs,
20 May 2025
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Anno 1800 may have been too heavy-handed here, but Anno 117 seems to overreact by going too far the other way.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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And Hannah Waddingham gives a good, stern space-lady as the voice of the Galactic Grand Councilwoman.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
20 May 2025
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In Kurosawa’s version, the chauffeur was an exceedingly meek man who got down on the floor to beg his stern shoe-manufacturer boss, played by the great Toshiro Mifune, to save his son.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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If coffee is a sledgehammer blow to the brain — admittedly sometimes useful — yaupon was more like a gentle neural stroking.—
Gabriel Popkin,
Washington Post,
15 Aug. 2022
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And Sundwall said that, in retrospect, state health officials took a sledgehammer approach to mitigating the pandemic, such as school closings in 2020, when the state could have taken a more surgical tack.—
Bethany Rodgers,
The Salt Lake Tribune,
27 Sep. 2021
Adjective
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But going back to trying to be gentle in ungentle times.—
Stephanie Stradley,
Houston Chronicle,
25 Sep. 2020
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Notes From an Apocalypse is a gentle argument for coming to terms with the precarity of life, published in a moment where people are facing its fragility in an immediate and ungentle context.—
Kate Knibbs,
Wired,
16 Apr. 2020
Adjective
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Despite the severe nature of Mrs. D’Aleo’s injuries, and the eyewitness account of Mrs. D’Aleo’s caregiver, Mr. and Mrs. Hornish continue to mischaracterize the incident.—
John J. Houlihan Jr,
Hartford Courant,
25 May 2025
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The risk of severe storms stretches from the southern Plains to the Southeast, with isolated severe storms possible in South Florida, the Storm Prediction Center said.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
25 May 2025
Adjective
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His face is grim, lacking the exuberance and devil-may-care attitude visible in earlier paintings.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
20 May 2025
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The headlines may be grim, but history is generous to those who stay invested.—
John Buckingham,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Ironfisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ironfisted. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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