strongman
noun
strong·man
ˈstrȯŋ-ˌman 
: one who leads or controls by force of will and character or by military methods
Synonyms
Examples of strongman in a Sentence
a Latin-American strongman who basically treated his nation's coffers as his personal bank account
Recent Examples on the Web
In Helmand, where the Marines tried to keep out abusive strongmen, the government’s defense was disastrously weak and uncoordinated.
—
Matthieu Aikins Victor J. Blue Peter Ganim Krish Seenivasan Steven Szczesniak, New York Times, 22 May 2024
Orbán’s comments came after Trump hosted the Hungarian strongman at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
—Joshua Berlinger, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024
For years, the Kremlin strongman has been cast as a leader able to guarantee order in this vast, turbulent country.
—Matthew Chance, CNN, 24 Mar. 2024
This did not surprise anyone who watched Trump as president repeatedly kowtow to Russian President Vladimir Putin and express admiration for other strongmen like North Korea’s Kim Jong Il.
—Thomas Elias, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for strongman 
Matthieu Aikins Victor J. Blue Peter Ganim Krish Seenivasan Steven Szczesniak, New York Times, 22 May 2024
Orbán’s comments came after Trump hosted the Hungarian strongman at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
—Joshua Berlinger, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024
For years, the Kremlin strongman has been cast as a leader able to guarantee order in this vast, turbulent country.
—Matthew Chance, CNN, 24 Mar. 2024
This did not surprise anyone who watched Trump as president repeatedly kowtow to Russian President Vladimir Putin and express admiration for other strongmen like North Korea’s Kim Jong Il.
—Thomas Elias, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for strongman
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'strongman.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near strongman
Cite this Entry
“Strongman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strongman. Accessed 6 Jun. 2024.
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