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Draconian comes from Draco, the name of a 7th-century B.C. Athenian legislator who created a written code of law. Draco's code was intended to clarify preexistent laws, but its severity is what made it really memorable. In Draco's code, even minor offenses were punishable by death, and failure to pay one's debts could result in slavery. Draconian, as a result, became associated with things cruel or harsh. Something draconian need not always be as cruel as the laws in Draco's code, though - today the word is used in a wide variety of ways and often refers to measures (steep parking fines, for example) that are relatively minor when compared with the death penalty.

Examples of draconian in a Sentence

The editorial criticizes the draconian measures being taken to control the spread of the disease.

Recent Examples on the Web Australian actor Nicole Kidman was exempted from quarantine in Hong Kong last week, the government appeared to confirm even as the Asian financial hub braced for more draconian Covid-19 travel restrictions to take effect from midnight Thursday. — NBC News, 19 Aug. 2021 The most recent twist came this weekend when Beijing unveiled draconian new restrictions on the private-tutoring market. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 27 July 2021 The imposition of draconian restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, and freedom of movement. — Annabelle Timsit, Quartz, 9 July 2021 The city's draconian Covid travel restrictions, coupled with a deteriorating political situation, means that expat friends and colleagues are leaving in droves. — Pauline Lockwood, CNN, 27 June 2021 The hope had been that, by this time, vaccinations would allow governments to avoid reimposing the often draconian restrictions that have been a part of life across Europe for the past year. — Marc Santora, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2021 The trend was already gaining steam pre-pandemic, but hit its stride during the height of China’s draconian lockdowns. — Washington Post, 21 Aug. 2021 The Taliban defeated most of those warlords and brought law and order at the cost of also imposing a draconian theocracy. — Peter Bergen, CNN, 19 Aug. 2021 The Taliban interpretation of sharia is among the most draconian in the world. — Marcus Yam, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'draconian.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.