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
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Recent Examples of strongman
Trump during his four-day tour embraced strongmen in ways new even for him.
—
Bloomberg, Mercury News, 16 May 2025
The Mad Max: Fury Road and Nosferatu star, 35, initially went out for the leading role of Clark Kent/Kal-El, the Kryptonian strongman who crash lands on Earth as a babe and struggles ever since to reconcile his upbringing in small-town Kansas with his otherworldly heritage.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 15 May 2025
The Trump administration’s ultimatums seem mostly aimed at Ukraine, even though Russian strongman Vladimir Putin has made no major concessions so far and snubbed Trump’s demands for a ceasefire to allow peace talks to gain traction.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 23 Apr. 2025
By turning over global order to strongmen running powerful countries, perhaps the world could enjoy relative peace and stability instead of conflict and disorder.
—Stacie E. Goddard, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for strongman
Bloomberg, Mercury News, 16 May 2025
The Mad Max: Fury Road and Nosferatu star, 35, initially went out for the leading role of Clark Kent/Kal-El, the Kryptonian strongman who crash lands on Earth as a babe and struggles ever since to reconcile his upbringing in small-town Kansas with his otherworldly heritage.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 15 May 2025
The Trump administration’s ultimatums seem mostly aimed at Ukraine, even though Russian strongman Vladimir Putin has made no major concessions so far and snubbed Trump’s demands for a ceasefire to allow peace talks to gain traction.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 23 Apr. 2025
By turning over global order to strongmen running powerful countries, perhaps the world could enjoy relative peace and stability instead of conflict and disorder.
—Stacie E. Goddard, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for strongman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strongman
Noun
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In theory, Lee and Trump are well suited as a pair to wrangle the North Korean dictator.—
John Delury,
Foreign Affairs,
3 June 2025
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Individual rights shield us from the initiation of physical force – whether by tax collectors, or dictators threatening us with missiles.—
Ben Bayer,
Oc Register,
19 May 2025
Noun
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The Russian tyrant has now cost his country hundreds of thousands of lives and huge portions of its military capability.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
3 June 2025
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Never mind that the Dodgers have been a rip-roaring success on the Golden Coast and that O’Malley was forced into a corner by a New York City tyrant named Robert Moses.—
Steve Silverman,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Strongman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strongman. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.
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