ironfisted

Definition of ironfistednext

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
  • Enoch confronts the celestial hosts, all wearing capes of swastika red under an oppressive horizon of jutting lightning and glaring orange mountains.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
  • The film adapts Xianzhe Xu’s comic series and unfolds during China’s Sui Dynasty under Emperor Yang Guang’s oppressive reign.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Silence and anxiety grip the capital Caracas, caused by the shock of the January 3 attack and the fear of the government’s heavy-handed response.
    Michael Rios, CNN Money, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Across the region, heavy-handed American tactics will risk spurring backlash and unintended consequences.
    Ian Bremmer, Time, 6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • In the video, Caleb said wearing a stern facial expression.
    Saleen Martin, USA Today, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Serious, even stern, Douglas was highly principled, fiercely uncompromising and personally brave.
    John T. Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026
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
  • In high doses, etizolam can cause severe central nervous system depression, potentially leading to unconsciousness, respiratory failure and death.
    Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Kyiv, which has grappled with severe power shortages this winter, is forecast to enter a brutally cold stretch starting Friday that is expected to last into next week.
    AAMER MADHANI AND SUSIE BLANN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Arkansas Online, 30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Job prospects for 2026 are looking grim in many ways.
    Erik Sherman, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
  • Tempted but reluctant to fork out the money, Hana runs some tests on the drug, and finds — in what one hopes is just a grim horror-film twist — that its composition comes down pretty much entirely to human ashes.
    Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 Jan. 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Ironfisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ironfisted. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.

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