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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Recent Examples of strongman
See the whistlers mimicking birdsong on Vogelpfeifer whistles, test your strength at the Hau den Lukas strongman game and munch on the traditional Lebkuchen gingerbread cookies.
—
Rebecca Deurlein, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
For decades, the strongmen had been extremely close, with Hun Sen appointing Thaksin as an economic advisor to the Cambodian government following the 2006 putsch.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 15 Sep. 2025
She had not been permitted to run against the strongman president, Nicolás Maduro, in the summer of 2024, but by the tallies of electoral observers (an official count is still unavailable), her surrogate garnered a majority of the vote.
—Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
The persecution worsened more than a decade ago during uprisings that remade the Middle East by toppling dictators — including Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak — but in some places spiraled into civil war.
—Hannah Allam, ProPublica, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for strongman
Rebecca Deurlein, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
For decades, the strongmen had been extremely close, with Hun Sen appointing Thaksin as an economic advisor to the Cambodian government following the 2006 putsch.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 15 Sep. 2025
She had not been permitted to run against the strongman president, Nicolás Maduro, in the summer of 2024, but by the tallies of electoral observers (an official count is still unavailable), her surrogate garnered a majority of the vote.
—Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
The persecution worsened more than a decade ago during uprisings that remade the Middle East by toppling dictators — including Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak — but in some places spiraled into civil war.
—Hannah Allam, ProPublica, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for strongman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strongman
Noun
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Sarkozy was found guilty of criminal conspiracy over efforts by close aides to procure funds for his 2007 presidential bid from Libya during the rule of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi.—
Juliette Jabkhiro,
USA Today,
25 Sep. 2025
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He was also found guilty of permitting close aides to seek campaign money from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favors during the rule of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The light historical touch is no doubt necessary for a series trying to sell its viewers on a love story between a modern protagonist and a character originally based on a real-life historical tyrant.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
29 Sep. 2025
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Reynolds is a tetchy tyrant, who, enabled by his sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville), has embraced a need to have things just so as a means of warding off vulnerability.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Strongman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strongman. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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