heavy-handedness

noun

1
as in clumsiness

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words
2
as in oppressiveness

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of heavy-handedness Granted, there was a lot to criticize in my writing, which was suffering from all sorts of problems, from structural incoherence to insufficient character development to—yes—didactic heavy-handedness that broke the reader’s immersion. — Literary Hub, 23 Apr. 2026 Ziegler’s humor and sympathy for her characters—including Creon, who desperately wants to do right by everyone—saves the conflict between individual and state from heavy-handedness. — Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026 The Hims & Hers ad is shrewd in its heavy-handedness. — Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 8 Feb. 2026 Beijing was selected over Almaty, Kazakhstan, as the 2022 host city after four other candidates, including Oslo and Stockholm, withdrew citing costs, high public opposition and IOC heavy-handedness. — Scott M. Reid, Oc Register, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heavy-handedness
  1. clumsiness
  2. harshness
  3. ham-handedness
  4. malevolence
  5. inexperience
  6. meanness
  7. crudeness
  8. maliciousness
Noun
  • Not for the first time, the president’s clumsiness is likely to negate his malevolence, though not without considerable cost, in time and money, to Comey.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
  • Let a hypothermic victim get some sleep After the shivering, confusion, slurred speech, and clumsiness of hypothermia have manifested, an exposure victim also gets drowsy.
    — Tim MacWelch, Outdoor Life, 15 July 2026
Definition of clumsiness
Noun
  • Reparations are about exercising a radical vision, thinking beyond the harshness of life, and knowing that something better is possible.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 July 2026
  • The harshness of the response suggested that after nearly five decades of trying to negotiate with the SSPX, the Holy See has had enough.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 July 2026
Definition of harshness
Noun
  • This journalistic cynicism amid government ham-handedness shattered something precious too.
    — Gil Troy, New York Daily News, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Only when Bouzid deals with the repercussions of homophobic Tunisian laws does the melodrama tip into ham-handedness.
    — Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026
Definition of ham-handedness
Noun
  • Both songs, like much of Ono’s musical and visual work, underline and encourage community, humanity, and creativity in everyone while simultaneously excoriating a pervasive malevolence.
    — Katherine Turman, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Not for the first time, the president’s clumsiness is likely to negate his malevolence, though not without considerable cost, in time and money, to Comey.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
Definition of malevolence
Noun
  • The episodes were seen among some in his party as an unwelcome distraction ahead of the election and revealing of Luxon’s relative political inexperience.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • On smaller movies, sometimes there are more opportunities — sometimes out of poverty, sometimes out of inexperience.
    — Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of inexperience
Noun
  • The Very Online meanness, and attendant allegations of sexism and élitism, carries echoes of the rift between the Clintonites and the Bernie Bros; El-Sayed has talked openly of using a victory to shape the 2028 Presidential field.
    — Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Sometimes the irony turns bitter and, with a typically Eastern European sensibility, highlights the paradoxes of institutions, as well as the madness and meanness born from the pursuit and preservation of power.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 8 June 2026
Definition of meanness
Noun
  • There’s some rudeness, aggressive conversations, and crudeness, but nothing too over the top.
    — Lynnette Nicholas, Parents, 4 Aug. 2025
Definition of crudeness
Noun
  • Rather than pursuing code maliciousness, limit code behavior regarding networking calls, file accesses and memory execution.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 12 Feb. 2026
Definition of maliciousness

Browse Nearby Words

heavy-handed
heavy-handedness
heavyhearted
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Heavy-handedness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heavy-handedness. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zeugma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All