as in harsh
formal + disapproving
unnecessarily strict or severe
The editorial criticizes the draconian measures being taken to control the spread of the disease. draconian punishments
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Recent Examples of draconian
The state already imposes a tax $1.10 per $1,000 of sales price and the city of Los Angeles and the city and county of San Francisco recently adopted draconian transfer taxes that tax some properties at 5.5%.
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John Franklin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2025
The draconian cuts to the IRS staffing and budget will likely exacerbate this problem.
—David Rae, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
The rationale for some kind of second look, or reconsideration of decades of draconian sentencing, is also compelled by the stark racial disparities that are manifest in life and long-term sentences, disparities that increase with longer sentences.
—Steve Zeidman, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2025
Under the framework, Hong Kong was promised a large degree of legal and economic autonomy—a commitment Beijing was accused of reneging on through its crackdown on democracy and adoption of the draconian National Security Law in 2020.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for draconian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for draconian
Adjective
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Donald Trump defended his harsh new tariffs on Saturday Night Live this week — and maybe took a swipe at last week’s musical guest, too.—
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Never one for details, Trump is now clearly linking the harsh 54% tariffs imposed on China on Tuesday to a TikTok deal.—
Adjective
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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway fared better than the S & P 500 in a brutal week as investors embraced the safety of a cash-rich conglomerate while President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs wreaked havoc on Wall Street.—
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With six games remaining in the regular season — and five of them coming in a brutal seven-day span — the Knicks are suddenly getting healthy at a time when workload management becomes a daily dilemma.—
Adjective
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Pierce Brosnan's patriarch is ruthless, but is his wife actually pulling the strings?—
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Successful entrepreneurs are ruthless with time and priorities Successful entrepreneurs are ruthless with their time and fiercely protective of their focus.—
Adjective
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Plan Your Trip Charleston, South Carolina The Holy City may be blanketed in humidity in the height of summer, but Charlestonians have figured out all the best ways to deal with the oppressive air.—
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Yet history provides no shortage of examples of human courage, even under the most oppressive circumstances.—
Adjective
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What's particularly cruel about that reality is that after years of dealing with questions about his weight, the former Duke Blue Devil star played a career-high 70 games in 2023-24.—
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Here, Munir may be vaccinating chickens rather than grabbing them on their way to slaughter, but the work is just as thankless and cruel.—
Cite this Entry
“Draconian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/draconian. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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