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
  • Joy speaks at length about growing up in a culturally sophisticated yet oppressive family and holding her artistic temperament in check, before achieving a belated liberation.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
  • The oppressive regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran has kept her away.
    Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • However, heavy-handed immigration tactics have eroded some of those gains.
    Douglas Schoen, Oc Register, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Trump has also surprised some by taking a heavy-handed approach with private businesses.
    Matt Egan, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • That led Judge Cannon to temporarily halt the proceedings and issue Routh a stern warning.
    Greg Allen, NPR, 23 Sep. 2025
  • High-profile stars and politicians of all creeds have been up in arms and ABC owner Disney has come in for particularly stern criticism over the very live situation.
    Max Goldbart, Deadline, 22 Sep. 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
  • Nichols sustained the most severe injuries in the crash.
    Sydney Barragan, Oc Register, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Lifelong residents of Globe witness to destruction Two lifelong Globe residents told The Arizona Republic about the severe destruction left in the wake of the floods — and how the community was already coming together to begin cleanup efforts.
    Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Molina, a window dresser imprisoned for public indecency, escapes the grim reality of their confinement by retelling the plot of a glamorous Hollywood musical featuring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez).
    Clayton Davis, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025
  • This one revealed fresh cause for concern, and a much more grim prognosis.
    Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 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.

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Cite this Entry

“Ironfisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ironfisted. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.

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