as in jackbooted
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for ironfisted
Adjective
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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 -
Hungary under his rule is far from a jackbooted dictatorship, but its democracy is diverging markedly from that of many of its partners in the European Union.—
Ishaan Tharoor,
Washington Post,
6 Apr. 2018
Adjective
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More than 60 years ago, my parents fled Cuba for the United States, seeking freedom from an oppressive regime that dictated what businesses produced and how products were priced.—
Carlos Cubelo,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 June 2025
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The film follows a 40-year-old widowed nurse named Mahnaz, who is struggling with a rebellious son and other complications in a heavily oppressive patriarchal context.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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In an address to the nation Sunday night about the first year of his new term, Bukele brushed off criticism of his heavy-handed tactics.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 June 2025
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Key Background Musk has scaled back his role in the Trump administration in recent weeks after brief but tumultuous run at DOGE, taking a heavy-handed approach to government cuts that raised eyebrows among Republicans and led to numerous lawsuits.—
Sara Dorn,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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It’s submerged 11 to 15 feet deep, with its stern facing the shore.—
Sarah Kuta,
Smithsonian Magazine,
11 June 2025
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Tonight: Explore! TAURUS (April 20-May 20) ★★★ Avoid arguments with others today, which might arise with Mercury in your House of Communications at odds with stern Saturn.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
9 June 2025
Adjective
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If coffee is a sledgehammer blow to the brain — admittedly sometimes useful — yaupon was more like a gentle neural stroking.—
Gabriel Popkin,
Washington Post,
15 Aug. 2022
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And Sundwall said that, in retrospect, state health officials took a sledgehammer approach to mitigating the pandemic, such as school closings in 2020, when the state could have taken a more surgical tack.—
Bethany Rodgers,
The Salt Lake Tribune,
27 Sep. 2021
Adjective
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But going back to trying to be gentle in ungentle times.—
Stephanie Stradley,
Houston Chronicle,
25 Sep. 2020
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Notes From an Apocalypse is a gentle argument for coming to terms with the precarity of life, published in a moment where people are facing its fragility in an immediate and ungentle context.—
Kate Knibbs,
Wired,
16 Apr. 2020
Adjective
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After years of severe drought, California saw one of its wettest winters on record.—
Annika Merrilees,
Sacbee.com,
7 June 2025
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Other journalists had excoriated McCarthy earlier, in print and on the radio, but Murrow met the medium and the moment in 1954, demonstrating the senator’s smear tactics and stirring a severe public backlash.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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The two men shook hands, and Mamdani slipped away looking grim.—
Eric Lach,
New Yorker,
13 June 2025
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Appearances aren’t deceptive; the portents are grim.—
Christian Schneider,
National Review,
12 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Ironfisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ironfisted. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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