iron fist

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.

“Iran brought down the iron fist with speed and ferocity we haven’t seen before,” said Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 17, 2026

And when the authoritarian leader starts to display physical impairment, the people who have been chafing under his iron fist stop fearing him.

From Salon • Nov. 19, 2025

Former president Suharto, who died in 2008 aged 86, ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for more than three decades after grabbing power in 1967 following a failed military coup.

From Barron's • Nov. 4, 2025

He painted Tesla, a company he famously rules with nearly an iron fist, as an egalitarian workplace with "no lords and peasants," because there's no "special elevator only for senior executives."

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2025

Like an ambassador to a hostile foreign country, my Guardian ad Litem was educated, elegant, and intimidating; however, Mrs. Moss ruled her fiefdom with an iron fist.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter