ironfisted

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ironfisted
Adjective
  • Cooper was obsessed with the New World Order and the actions of jackbooted government enforcers against the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, and white separatist Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge, Idaho.
    Andrew Stuttaford, WSJ, 19 Sep. 2018
  • Likethumb_up Replyreply Linklink Copy Reportflag eraley 22 minutes ago Trump’s America and his jackbooted thugs.
    Marwa Eltagouri, Washington Post, 28 May 2018
Adjective
  • These political executions are a callous attempt by the authorities to frighten and silence an increasingly restive population no longer willing to accept their corrupt and oppressive rule.
    Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Unlike the oppressive governments that have been affiliated with the socialist movement, modern-day democratic socialism strictly advocates for policies that can be enacted without threatening the power of the people.
    Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • That can be good or bad depending on the item or fabric, or for those who might be heavy-handed.
    Joe Salas October 29, New Atlas, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Which reminds me of a young man in Albania under the Communists who explained the country’s heavy-handed socialism to me.
    Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • On Academy Street, taken over by Dominicans, the Fourth translated into a jubilant handful of families and neighbors on each stretch of sidewalk, with speakers, folding chairs, and beer bottles at the foot of stern buildings.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
  • The boat can easily accommodate a dozen guests, thanks to the abundant seating, including a rear-facing lounge at the stern and bow lounge.
    Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • If coffee is a sledgehammer blow to the brain — admittedly sometimes useful — yaupon was more like a gentle neural stroking.
    Gabriel Popkin, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022
  • And Sundwall said that, in retrospect, state health officials took a sledgehammer approach to mitigating the pandemic, such as school closings in 2020, when the state could have taken a more surgical tack.
    Bethany Rodgers, The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Sep. 2021
Adjective
  • But going back to trying to be gentle in ungentle times.
    Stephanie Stradley, Houston Chronicle, 25 Sep. 2020
  • Notes From an Apocalypse is a gentle argument for coming to terms with the precarity of life, published in a moment where people are facing its fragility in an immediate and ungentle context.
    Kate Knibbs, Wired, 16 Apr. 2020
Adjective
  • Eight states across the northern and central United States are bracing for severe winter weather this weekend as forecasters from the National Weather Service (NWS) issue warnings for snow, ice, and dangerously cold conditions.
    Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Nov. 2025
  • The blade had perforated Fulcher’s colon, causing severe pain.
    Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • That’s a grim prospect—but then, in Venezuela, yesterday’s grimmest prospects become tomorrow’s headlines with dreadful regularity.
    Quico Toro, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Controversy follows Cheney While Cheney's disposition was never particularly sunny, critics assailed the vice president as a relentlessly grim figure.
    Don Gonyea, NPR, 4 Nov. 2025
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.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ironfisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ironfisted. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.

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!