as in jackbooted
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for ironfisted
Adjective
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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
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After a summer of oppressive heat, October is when New York City hits its stride.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
18 Oct. 2025
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Raducanu had her blood pressure taken during the match, which was played in oppressive heat and humidity, before retiring down 6-1, 4-1.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The president’s breakthrough announcement is a strong step forward for patients, and a welcome contrast to the Biden administration’s heavy-handed approach that threatened the innovation that generates new cures.—
Bobby Jindal,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
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The sequence is pure spectacle, but amidst the heavy-handed metaphor, there's a timely commentary about the risks of relying on this type of technology at all.—
Elisabeth Sherman,
Parents,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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At Roland Park, Tupac’s English teacher was a stern woman named Thomasina Porter.—
Jeff Pearlman,
Rolling Stone,
17 Oct. 2025
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The short war in Cuba gained the United States the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico; turned the nation into a Pacific power; and created beliefs that America was a stern yet benevolent country tasked by Destiny to enforce peace and bring prosperity to the world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
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But going back to trying to be gentle in ungentle times.—
Stephanie Stradley,
Houston Chronicle,
25 Sep. 2020
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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
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There are some legitimate medical uses for fentanyl, including post-surgery and severe pain relief, but it is often mixed in with other illicit drugs and can be fatal.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
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The devastation was so severe that rebuilding and recovery seemed years away.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This grim reality evokes a sense of sorrow and powerlessness among women in Paina Bujurg.—
Aishwarya S. Iyer,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
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To the right lay the harbor, its narrow entrance guarded by the grim Morro Castle.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Oct. 2025
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“Ironfisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ironfisted. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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