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
The attacks on Putin mark a dramatic shift from Trump, who has spent years defending the Kremlin strongman.
—
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 8 July 2025
The problem was that in fighting markets in the way that foreign policy types fight democracy, strongmen, and in between, the U.S. foreign policy establishment robs countries of the essential cleansing and recovery that can only be preceded by allotment of failure.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Ex-police officer Dutton became opposition leader after the center-right Liberal Party was swept from power three years ago, bringing with him a reputation as the uncompromising strongman of the party’s right wing – a former minister for defense, home affairs and immigration.
—Hilary Whiteman and Angus Watson, CNN Money, 30 Apr. 2025
As some historians talk about Trump as a strongman in the Latin American mold, perhaps the region has something to teach us about democracy.
—Carolina A. Miranda, The Atlantic, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for strongman
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 8 July 2025
The problem was that in fighting markets in the way that foreign policy types fight democracy, strongmen, and in between, the U.S. foreign policy establishment robs countries of the essential cleansing and recovery that can only be preceded by allotment of failure.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Ex-police officer Dutton became opposition leader after the center-right Liberal Party was swept from power three years ago, bringing with him a reputation as the uncompromising strongman of the party’s right wing – a former minister for defense, home affairs and immigration.
—Hilary Whiteman and Angus Watson, CNN Money, 30 Apr. 2025
As some historians talk about Trump as a strongman in the Latin American mold, perhaps the region has something to teach us about democracy.
—Carolina A. Miranda, The Atlantic, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for strongman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strongman
Noun
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The Boys mothership show is heading towards its fifth and final season, premiering next year, and so far, no one seems powerful enough to take down the dictator supe.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
25 July 2025
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In 2003: Qusay and Uday Hussein, sons of Iraqi dictator Sadam Hussein, were killed by U.S. Special Forces and infantrymen from 101st Airborne after a three-hour firefight in the city of Mosul, Iraq.—
Lorenzino Estrada,
AZCentral.com,
23 July 2025
Noun
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Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 July 2025
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Our tyrant locks up immigrants, comptrollers too, And sows chaos no matter the cost, so, what’s a public theater to do, To ensure that our democracy is not lost?—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
17 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Strongman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strongman. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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