strongman

noun

strong·​man ˈstrȯŋ-ˌman How to pronounce strongman (audio)
: one who leads or controls by force of will and character or by military methods

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 The vast majority of Palestinians believe Abbas and his cadres should cede leadership to a younger generation who will govern through institutions and not as strongmen. Raja Khalidi, Foreign Affairs, 19 Mar. 2024 Billed as a 6-foot-3, 337-pound strongman, Smith was drafted in the first round of 2023 NFL Draft out of Michigan to plug the middle and anchor the run defense. Clarence E. Hill Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Feb. 2024 In Britain, a 2022 survey of 8,000 adults by the center-right think tank Onward found 61% of this age group said such a strongman was a good way to run a country — up from 25% in 1999. Alexander Smith, NBC News, 20 Feb. 2024 At the center of each procession, a strongman carried a mashael (an iron chandelier) on his muscular shoulders, its 27 flaming lamps doused in crude oil. Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023 Starting at the turn of the previous century, Heilbrunn showcases the myriad ways in which influential conservatives, including many prominent Republicans, fawned over strongmen like the German kaiser and various Cold War-era juntas. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 For years, strongmen and autocrats had a novel weapon in their hunt for political enemies. Jane Bradley, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024 Many of the Russian strongman’s enemies have died under mysterious circumstances. Sebastian Shukla, CNN, 19 Feb. 2024 In a nation of astonishing scale and diversity, the success of Indonesian democracy has been an example for countries elsewhere in the developing world — not least myriad other Muslim-majority states where strongmen and generals have long quashed the democratic aspirations of their peoples. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024

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.

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of strongman was in 1859

Dictionary Entries Near strongman

Cite this Entry

“Strongman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strongman. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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