as in to intimidate
to make timid or fearful by or as if by threats
developers trying to strong-arm homeowners into selling their houses at below-market prices
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Recent Examples of strong-arm
The White House’s push to suppress the Smithsonian’s programming is part of an attempt to strong-arm influential cultural institutions and, in turn, culture itself.
—
Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Trump over the weekend shook the NATO alliance by threatening tariffs on Europe to strong-arm his aim of taking over Greenland.
—Michelle L. Price, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
The Democrats’ anger has been building all year, as immigration enforcement agents have used what critics say are strong-arm tactics to find undocumented immigrants.
—David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 14 Jan. 2026
On Thursday Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne invoked Article 49 of the French constitution, which enabled the Macron government to strong-arm a bill through the National Assembly without a vote.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 16 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for strong-arm
Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Trump over the weekend shook the NATO alliance by threatening tariffs on Europe to strong-arm his aim of taking over Greenland.
—Michelle L. Price, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
The Democrats’ anger has been building all year, as immigration enforcement agents have used what critics say are strong-arm tactics to find undocumented immigrants.
—David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 14 Jan. 2026
On Thursday Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne invoked Article 49 of the French constitution, which enabled the Macron government to strong-arm a bill through the National Assembly without a vote.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 16 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for strong-arm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strong-arm
Verb
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Virginia never looked intimidated despite last month’s blowout loss.—
Steve Reed,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
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They are intimidated by his beauty and coolness, and keeping driving up to the window.—
Andy Hoglund,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The victim involved was identified by her family as Jada West, who reportedly had been bullied since transferring to the school.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
13 Mar. 2026
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The funny thing is, Austin fathered seven children in all, but only Dot, Betty and Helen were coerced into performing, and their father’s monomania is compared, quite alarmingly, to such bullying stage fathers as Murray Wilson (The Beach Boys) and Joe Jackson (The Jackson 5).—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Its ballistic-missile program—the backbone of Tehran’s ability to coerce the region—has suffered immense damage.—
Richard Goldberg,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
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As long as the intimacy coordinators are being hired by the studio, my view of their role is that their job is to coerce the actors into doing things, as opposed to advocate on their behalf against the studio.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Strong-arm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strong-arm. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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