Iron-fisted

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Characterized by ruthless control. derogatory

    "In his book, The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution," David Carter offers a detailed and important overview of the iron-fisted state repression during the Cold War."

Example

More examples

"In his book, The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution," David Carter offers a detailed and important overview of the iron-fisted state repression during the Cold War."

Etymology

From the idea of having an iron fist.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.