Procrustean

//pɹəʊˈkɹʌsti.ən// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Enforcing strict conformity through disregard of individual differences or special circumstances.

    "The object in choosing the political capital is average nearness of approach from the various confines of the State; but commerce submits to no such Procrustean laws in selecting her capitals, and consequently she has placed Detroit on the borders of Michigan, […]"

  2. 2
    Alternative letter-case form of procrustean. alt-of

    "We should not see their intellects stunted by Procrustean attempts to teach them all the same accomplishments, to the neglect, most often, of any sound practical training of their faculties."

Adjective
  1. 1
    of or relating to the mythical giant Procrustes or the mode of torture practiced by him wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
dourfirmfundamentalisthardhideboundimpliable

Example

More examples

"The Procrustean methods of the police were designed to produce conformity but they were soon discarded."

Etymology

From Procrustes + -an.

Related phrases

Procrustean assignmentprocrustean bedone size fits all

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