draconian

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Nevertheless, the city council has proposed draconian measures to raise business costs even further, requiring one employee for every three self-checkout lanes and a 15-item maximum at self-checkout.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Everything fell: oil prices, the dollar, even gold, because investors were shocked by how unsophisticated and draconian the policy was.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

"Extreme rationing" could be introduced, he says, but draconian restrictions are already in place.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

"Too many!" interjects Sandy, who was not thrilled about having to park far from the village centre just to go grocery shopping -- security is even more draconian with US President Donald Trump arriving Wednesday.

From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026

Those and other draconian measures must have contributed to the spread of North China’s Sino-Tibetan languages over most of China, and to reducing the Miao-Yao and other language families to their present fragmented distributions.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond