ironfisted

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ironfisted
Adjective
  • 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
  • This gripping series takes viewers into insidious modern-day cults through the unique lens of members who endured unspeakable trauma and the shocking investigations into these oppressive groups.
    Katcy Stephan, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025
  • Dominic Frey is a member of the oppressive class and everything Silas should despise — but now their mutual discretion is all that’s keeping them from punishment for their crimes of passion.
    Olivia Waite, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Mishra then abruptly juxtaposes a scene from Gaza, flush with heavy-handed language that bludgeons home his comparison.
    Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2025
  • His second victory has revived fears that Trump would seize MPD, then order it to be heavy-handed on city streets.
    Cuneyt Dil, Axios, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Lilian laughed, but Dr. Fenton remained stern, only nodding at Lilian’s understanding.
    Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2025
  • Waves of anti-Tesla and Elon Musk protests ripple throughout Bay Area Related Articles With few options, Bay Area Democrats in Congress oppose Trump with stern letters, town halls and protest California’s first zero-emission car mandates are coming.
    CNN.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
  • But going back to trying to be gentle in ungentle times.
    Stephanie Stradley, Houston Chronicle, 25 Sep. 2020
  • 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
  • But her origin story is compelling: Braverman was born in Ukraine, just weeks before the Chernobyl nuclear event, and was in severe respiratory distress soon after birth.
    John Werner, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
  • Konstantopoulos has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a chronic condition that affects connective tissues and makes injuries more frequent and severe.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The result is that every year, the Palestinian reality gets grimmer.
    Noa Tishby, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2025
  • In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes emphasized that the Egyptian proposal for Gaza’s reconstruction does not reflect the grim realities on the ground.
    Efrat Lachter, Fox News, 6 Mar. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Ironfisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ironfisted. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

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