as in totalitarian
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Recent Examples of jackbooted
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
These are the words and actions similar to low-level criminals in the mob or jackbooted followers of fascist leaders in 1930s Europe, not the president of the United States in 2018.
—David Zurawik, baltimoresun.com, 26 Mar. 2018
But what makes director Jeremy Wechsler’s production engaging throughout is the way the cast commits to these characters without turning them into caricatures of either obsessive-nerd culture or jackbooted thugs.
—Kerry Reid, chicagotribune.com, 31 Jan. 2018
Was Rizzo a jackbooted tyrant who went out of his way to punish blacks and gays?
—David Gambacorta, Philly.com, 22 Aug. 2017
For some, the racist taunts of the past few days recalled a time when jackbooted members of the far-right National Front taunted immigrants on the streets of Britain in the 1980s, during the painful deindustrialization of the Thatcher era.
—Dan Bilefsky, New York Times, 27 June 2016
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
These are the words and actions similar to low-level criminals in the mob or jackbooted followers of fascist leaders in 1930s Europe, not the president of the United States in 2018.
—David Zurawik, baltimoresun.com, 26 Mar. 2018
But what makes director Jeremy Wechsler’s production engaging throughout is the way the cast commits to these characters without turning them into caricatures of either obsessive-nerd culture or jackbooted thugs.
—Kerry Reid, chicagotribune.com, 31 Jan. 2018
Was Rizzo a jackbooted tyrant who went out of his way to punish blacks and gays?
—David Gambacorta, Philly.com, 22 Aug. 2017
For some, the racist taunts of the past few days recalled a time when jackbooted members of the far-right National Front taunted immigrants on the streets of Britain in the 1980s, during the painful deindustrialization of the Thatcher era.
—Dan Bilefsky, New York Times, 27 June 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jackbooted
Adjective
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Born on December 16, 1988, in Vlorë, Albania, during the final years of the country’s totalitarian regime, Murati’s early life was shaped by political upheaval and economic uncertainty.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
3 Oct. 2025
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That’s how a totalitarian regime operates.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
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The developments led Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s socialist and authoritarian leader, to threaten to declare a state of emergency earlier this week.—
Morgan Chalfant,
semafor.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The book is a policy handbook meant to address the realities of political life following the turmoil of the French Revolution, presenting a Christian alternative to both the authoritarian secular liberalism and counterrevolutionary movements of the day.—
Indianapolis Star,
IndyStar,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Fox reclaims the notorious lady-in-waiting from centuries of scandal, revealing a sharp-witted, politically savvy woman caught in the tyrannical court of Henry VIII.—
Phillipa Gregory,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
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Once stuck in the past, Ji-yeon must use her culinary prowess to stay alive under the notoriously tyrannical rule of King Lee Heon (Hierarchy’s Lee Chae-min).—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The emergency has become the rule, transforming exceptional powers into the ordinary machinery of despotic governance.—
Beatriz Magaloni,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Sep. 2025
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This is how legal systems in despotic regimes operate.—
Andrew Binns,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Compared to their forerunners in the tsarist era, with their party congresses held abroad, their executive committees, and their active recruitment in imperial Russia’s universities, Soviet dissidents remained a comparatively small and informal conglomeration of activists.—
Benjamin Nathans
September 24,
Literary Hub,
24 Sep. 2025
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Since tsarist times, Russia has ensured Armenia’s loyalty by promising to defend it against the Ottoman Empire (and then against its successor, Turkey) with sustained military support.—
Thomas de Waal,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Fears are growing among Venezuela’s leadership that the true goal of the US deployment is toppling the autocratic regime of President Nicolás Maduro, though some warn a military intervention could further destabilize the country.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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That same energy appears to be in the streets of Belgrade now, sustained by a new generation of citizens standing firm against the tactic of a different autocratic leader.—
Hanna Begić,
The Conversation,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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These tyrannous tabbies don’t understand that canning is not exclusively for wet food.—
Julie Klausner,
Vulture,
27 Dec. 2024
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Indeed, Daniel Roher’s pulse-pumping documentary about the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has all the ingredients: a mysterious case of near-fatal poisoning, a web of for-hire hoodlums, Vladimir Putin as the tyrannous leader behind it all.—
Tomris Laffly,
Harper's BAZAAR,
1 Feb. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Jackbooted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jackbooted. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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