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ironfisted

[ ahy-ern-fis-tid ]

/ ˈaɪ ərnˈfɪs tɪd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR ironfisted ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

ruthless, harsh, and tyrannical: an ironfisted dictator.

stingy; tight-fisted.

Origin of ironfisted

First recorded in 1850–55; iron + fist¹ + -ed³

Words nearby ironfisted

ironbound, ironclad, irondequoit, irone, ironer, ironfisted, ironhanded, ironic, ironical, ironically, ironing

Example sentences from the Web for iron-fisted

Some Egyptians find this iron-fisted approach very appealing.

Egypt Prepares to Anoint a Dictator and Call it an Election |Jesse Rosenfeld |May 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I understood that if I cut it out and went up there and let that iron-fisted Irishman slam me around, that I'd come out all right.

The Danger Mark |Robert W. Chambers
Time, the iron-fisted Nihilist, will knock them all down some day and bid mankind begin anew.

Doctor Claudius, A True Story |F. Marion Crawford
And what does the iron-fisted Colonel say as to thee for a son-in-law?

Lorimer of the Northwest |Harold Bindloss

Haggarty, the iron-fisted cant-hook man, who had drawn Kent pay for years, took up the matter in the bunk-house that night.

The Boss of Wind River |David Goodger (goodger@python.org)
But they paid no attention––which showed that there was something they feared more even than the iron-fisted Chief.

In the Morning of Time |Charles G. D. Roberts