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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Recent Examples of strongman
Someone with a different view of the strongman’s education crackdown is Vice President JD Vance, who was in Hungary this week trying to boost Orbán’s flagging polls ahead of a crucial election Sunday.
—
Alexander Smith, NBC news, 11 Apr. 2026
Trump’s social media post echoed comments made by guest Michael Lee, who was championing the role Palantir’s technology played in the raid to capture Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026
Min Aung Hlaing’s ascent to the presidency follows a tradition of military strongmen installing themselves as the nation’s top leader and seeking to legitimize their rule through unfair elections.
—ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026
The father and son strongmen have frequently paired up to train together and have been spotted rehearsing the elegant poses that made Schwarzenegger a star.
—Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for strongman
Alexander Smith, NBC news, 11 Apr. 2026
Trump’s social media post echoed comments made by guest Michael Lee, who was championing the role Palantir’s technology played in the raid to capture Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026
Min Aung Hlaing’s ascent to the presidency follows a tradition of military strongmen installing themselves as the nation’s top leader and seeking to legitimize their rule through unfair elections.
—ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026
The father and son strongmen have frequently paired up to train together and have been spotted rehearsing the elegant poses that made Schwarzenegger a star.
—Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for strongman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strongman
Noun
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Now, is that the same as a soldier betting on the capture of a vicious dictator?—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2026
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Now some people, or maybe just One People, might chuckle at that, thinking dictator Kim Jong Un’s FAILING Ryugyong hotel makes the One People’s library a shoo-in for Best in Show Vainglorious Architecture Awards.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
19 Apr. 2026
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The cold indifference of history buried that grandiose tyrant in the oblivion of the desert — a haunting reminder that even the most grandiose of leaders are but fleeting shadows in the long arc of history.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Fortune,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Strongman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strongman. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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