ironhanded

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ironhanded
Adjective
  • Global organization Human Rights Watch accused the festival of diverting attention away from allegations of the government’s severe repression of free speech and criticized comedians for performing on the behest of an oppressive regime.
    Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
  • The oppressive rule has led to nations cutting off aid, leading to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
    Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Global organization Human Rights Watch accused the festival of diverting attention away from allegations of the government’s severe repression of free speech and criticized comedians for performing on the behest of an oppressive regime.
    Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Throughout his career, Zilber helped plant millions of trees and was a part of the state's response efforts for severe weather events, including wildfires, floods and tornadoes.
    Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Lammens was perhaps fortunate to escape sanction then (Stuart Atwell booked the forward for diving), but this was a valuable occasion ahead of tougher tests, beginning at Anfield.
    Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
  • There will be some tough picking in there, but typically the predicting business gets a little easier in region play.
    Tyler Palmateer, Nashville Tennessean, 4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The trappings of the Senate were another world from Mr. Abourezk’s rough-and-tumble childhood on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, where his Lebanese parents had immigrated and ran a general store.
    STEPHEN GROVES, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Feb. 2023
  • The startup’s rough-and-tumble experiments are even more telling.
    Justine Calma, The Verge, 24 Feb. 2023
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
  • TelevisaUnivsion issued a stern statement of displeasure at the situation.
    Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2025
  • In a series of rulings on motions brought by Combs after his conviction, Judge Subramanian has been stern.
    Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • At the core of the GOP’s shutdown argument is painting a grim picture of any non-citizen receiving any government benefit.
    David Weigel, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2025
  • In her usual soft-spoken British accent, she was known for balancing the grim realities of the climate crisis with a sincere message of hope for the future.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The heavy-handed Wu, who won 72% of the vote in this month’s preliminary election, forcing her only opponent to drop out, apparently wants more.
    Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
  • However, heavy-handed immigration tactics have eroded some of those gains.
    Douglas Schoen, Oc Register, 22 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

“Ironhanded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ironhanded. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.

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