1
as in authoritarian
fond of ordering people around
the governor's peremptory personal assistant began telling the crowd of reporters and photographers exactly where they had to stand
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2
as in compulsory
forcing one's compliance or participation by or as if by law
a peremptory summons to appear before the committee
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3
as in arrogant
having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude
she had such a peremptory approach to running the club that people started to avoid her
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4
as in arbitrary
having or showing a tendency to force one's will on others without any regard to fairness or necessity
a peremptory insistence that the staff wait on them first
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of peremptory
Less than twenty-four hours after O’Keefe was pronounced dead, the lead investigator on the case, a Massachusetts state trooper named Michael Proctor, shared his peremptory impressions of Read over texts with friends, which he was forced to read aloud on the stand.
—
Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 1 July 2024
The biggest payoff from this strategy came in 1991, when the Eleventh Circuit ruled in Horton v. Zant that a prosecutor had systematically used peremptory strikes to eliminate Black jurors from his cases, particularly in cases involving a Black person charged with killing a white person.
—Robert L. Tsai / Made By History, TIME, 28 June 2024
If both sides were allowed an unlimited number of peremptory strikes, impaneling a jury in any trial would prove an impossible task.
—Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 17 Apr. 2024
The parties are allowed to strike an unlimited number of jurors for cause, while each side is permitted ten peremptory strikes, which are used to excuse jurors for any reason.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 15 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for peremptory
Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 1 July 2024
The biggest payoff from this strategy came in 1991, when the Eleventh Circuit ruled in Horton v. Zant that a prosecutor had systematically used peremptory strikes to eliminate Black jurors from his cases, particularly in cases involving a Black person charged with killing a white person.
—Robert L. Tsai / Made By History, TIME, 28 June 2024
If both sides were allowed an unlimited number of peremptory strikes, impaneling a jury in any trial would prove an impossible task.
—Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 17 Apr. 2024
The parties are allowed to strike an unlimited number of jurors for cause, while each side is permitted ten peremptory strikes, which are used to excuse jurors for any reason.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 15 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for peremptory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peremptory
Adjective
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His parents were Italian immigrants who fled Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime, and his grandmother Rosa Margherita Vassallo di Bergoglio was active in Catholic Action, formed by Italian bishops who wanted to maintain their independence from Mussolini’s authoritarian rule.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
21 Apr. 2025
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Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been called an authoritarian, and previous reports have noted restrictions to civil liberties.—
Graham Smith,
NPR,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Jack would begin a compulsory ninety-day psychiatric evaluation in the California Institution for Men in Chino, a rough place known to be brutal to younger inmates for the same possession charges.—
Susannah Cahalan,
Rolling Stone,
17 Apr. 2025
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Now, Weight Watchers isn’t exactly facing bankruptcy because people everywhere are suddenly looking inward and agreeing to throw off the shackles of compulsory thinness.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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That doesn’t portray a hero, but rather someone so arrogant as to invent his own law and appoint himself its executioner.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2025
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Fed Up in Illinois Dear Fed Up: Is Edie mean, arrogant, disobedient and rude in the presence of her parents, or has she been invited to spend time with your girls separately?—
Abigail Van Buren,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Most times, these changes are a result of the over-analysis of some arbitrary KPIs meant to gauge the health and growth of the platform.—
Solo Ceesay,
Rolling Stone,
22 Apr. 2025
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In short, protectionism grants states too much arbitrary power to intervene in the market and thus spawns more platforms for the exchange of political favors.—
JAVIER CORRALES,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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As mild-mannered schoolteacher Mr. Lisbon, James Woods plays a quiet counterpoint to his domineering wife.—
Sezin Devi Koehler,
EW.com,
21 Apr. 2025
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Among them towers the frighteningly domineering Honoria Glossop.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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This even prohibits complimenting the food, which is practically considered mandatory these days.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
28 Apr. 2025
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Alvarez had held the undisputed super middleweight crown, but the IBF stripped Alvarez of its belt in July 2024 after Alvarez failed to make a mandatory title defense against Scull.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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In contrast, the Pixel 9, priced at $799, offers a brighter display, 12GB RAM, a superior 50MP main camera, and additional features like faster charging and Wi-Fi 7 support.—
Prakhar Khanna,
Forbes.com,
19 Apr. 2025
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Behind them are two more NL teams — the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets — as the NL proves to be by far the superior league.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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In this authoritative, elegant biography, Daut meticulously combs the torrents of contemporary letters and broadsheets to draw a complex, contradictory portrait of Christophe, also known as King Henry.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Apr. 2025
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The distant therapist Not too long ago, therapists acted like black boxes and authoritative gods.—
David E. Tolchinsky,
The Conversation,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Peremptory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peremptory. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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