Thesaurus results for STRONGMAN

strongman

noun

ˈstrȯŋ-ˌman

Definition of strongman

as in dictator

a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way a Latin-American strongman who basically treated his nation's coffers as his personal bank account

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of strongman Hanke even survived a close call when Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic spread rumors the economist was a French spy and dispatched a hit squad to assassinate him. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026 Not only the record, but backlash caused by Guillen's awkward praise of former Cuban strongman Fidel Castro contributed to his dismissal in South Florida. — CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026 In his opening statement, Paul painted Fauci as the strongman behind key pandemic decisions, using his influence to justify them. — Helen Branswell, STAT, 29 July 2026 The courtroom pleasantries represented a dramatic comedown for a strongman who once ruled Venezuela from a fortified presidential compound. — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 22 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for strongman

Recent Examples of Synonyms for strongman

Noun

Ovechkin, who turns 41 on Thursday — the same day the Capitals open training camp — has long been a public supporter of Putin, the de facto dictator whose authoritarian regime has overseen a full-scale war with neighboring Ukraine since 2022.

— Barry Svrluga, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Sazan is a rugged place—strewn with rocks and tangles of trees, populated by a large colony of rats, and studded with bunkers built by the Marxist dictator Enver Hoxha to defend against an imaginary invasion.

— Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of dictator

Noun

Plato warned that an unhealthy democracy can easily fall prey to a tyrant.

— Kenneth Michael White, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026
Some of the rumors, and a few of the reports at the time, paint Khrzhanovsky as a tyrant who went mad with power, like Colonel Kurtz in Heart of Darkness (or maybe Francis Ford Coppola making Apocalypse Now).

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of tyrant

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strongly

strongman

strongmen

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“Strongman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strongman. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of strongman

noun

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