1
as in clumsiness
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2
as in oppressiveness
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heavy-handedness
Noun
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Police in Oklahoma witnessed the clumsiness of nature when a wildlife rescue turned from pure-hearted Disney moment into Discovery channel outtake, video shows.—
TJ Macias,
Kansas City Star,
29 Sep. 2025 -
And this is in addition to our ongoing on-pitch tactical clumsiness and lack of motivation for big games.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Middleton aimed to create a score that reflects the harshness and hope of the desert setting.—
Audrey Gibbs,
Nashville Tennessean,
17 Oct. 2025
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The harshness of the language and the raw politicking shocked voters.—
Matt Klink,
Oc Register,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But the inexperience of low-key Carmelo Anthony, paired with Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter and host Maria Taylor, was hurt by being on the court and the crowd.—
Andrew Marchand,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Andy Pages is one of the youngest players on the Dodgers, and his inexperience has been apparent throughout the postseason.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Meanwhile, there was an undercurrent of malevolence coming from the Sabres’ Mason Geertsen (6-foot-5, 231 pounds), who got into a couple of jawing matches with 6-foot-7, 255-pound Nikita Zadorov, but nothing came of it.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
12 Oct. 2025
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To watch Lipe-Smith’s Caroline cuddle in bed watching TV on her iPad, or bopping around to JoJo Siwa, or pensively finishing a Popsicle while sitting beside her grandmother at a museum, is to have the sheer malevolence of our current administration and its adherents thrown into sharp relief.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There’s some rudeness, aggressive conversations, and crudeness, but nothing too over the top.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Comment sections have always attracted hatefulness and resentment; these ones just happen to encourage it more explicitly.—
Rebecca Jennings,
Vulture,
30 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Heavy-handedness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heavy-handedness. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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