Synonyms of draconian

draconian

adjective

as in harsh

formal + disapproving unnecessarily strict or severe

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

draconian punishments

Related Words

• harsh
• brutal
• ruthless
• oppressive
• cruel
• grim
• vicious
• merciless
• barbaric
• inhumane
• inhuman
• sadistic
• draconic
• barbarous
• heavy-handed
• savage
• heartless
• atrocious
• brute
• fiendish
• truculent
• pitiless
• ferocious
• hardhanded
• unfeeling
• butcherly
• murderous
• wanton
• bloodthirsty
• malicious
• hard-hearted
• vindictive
• sanguinary
• malevolent
• hateful
• malignant
• ironhearted
• spiteful
• cutthroat
• sanguine
• stonyhearted
• fell
• malign
• nasty
• mean
• despiteful
• catty

Dissimilar Words

• warm
• lenient
• merciful
• charitable
• tender
• pitying
• peaceful
• benign
• sympathetic
• peaceable
• warmhearted
• humane
• kind
• pacific
• compassionate
• clement
• kindhearted
• benignant
• good-hearted
• tenderhearted

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of draconian

In a basement in a quiet corner of Kabul, CBS News was granted rare access this week to a secret school where teen girls dare to continue their education in defiance of a draconian Taliban regime — girls who want their voices to be heard. — Imtiaz Tyab, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2026

But draconian mandates and screenless classes can’t be the only ways that colleges deal with AI. — Sian Leah Beilock, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2026

Under the Taliban’s draconian interpretation of sharia, watching movies, playing chess, singing, and playing or listening to music are all banned. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 31 Aug. 2026

That could spark draconian cuts to how much drinking water is available for millions of people and imperil farms 500 miles away in California's Imperial Valley. — Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 17 Aug. 2026

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