Draconian

[ drey-koh-nee-uh n, druh- ]

/ dreɪˈkoʊ ni ən, drə- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR Draconian ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of the Athenian statesman Draco, or his severe code of laws.

(often lowercase) rigorous; unusually severe or cruel: Draconian forms of punishment.

Also Draconic.

Origin of Draconian

1810–20; < Latin Dracōn- (stem of Draco) + -ian

Related forms

Dra·co·ni·an·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for draconian

Human rights groups, however, said the measures were “draconian” and counter-productive.
To Stop ISIS, Britain Is Set to Stop Free Speech|Nico Hines|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This photograph is a critique of how draconian the rules of society can be.
‘Gods of Suburbia’: Dina Goldstein’s Arresting Photo Series on Religion vs. Consumerism|Dina Goldstein|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A top National Institutes of Health official called the quarantines “draconian.”
Are Mandatory Ebola Quarantines Legal?|Tim Mak|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I fear the latter, given the draconian governmental measures over a single case, but time will tell.
It’s Not Time to Worry About China’s Plague Just Yet|Kent Sepkowitz|July 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Draconian punishments were meted out to supposed sinners and traitors.
Saddam’s Former Deputy, the Red Skull of Baghdad, Still at Large in Iraq and Allied With ISIS|Jacob Siegel, Christopher Dickey|July 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He read the sentence through three times, and then recollected that he had not looked up the Draconian reforms.
The Cruise of the Dazzler|Jack London
These Draconian rules obviate our degrading system of affiliation summonses.
The American Egypt|Channing Arnold
What shall we say of the ingenious system of penal laws, which, with Draconian cruelty, was enacted against Catholicity?
The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 1, January 1865|Various
Which was all very well, if he had only found out what the Draconian reforms were.
The Cruise of the Dazzler|Jack London
If there are exceptions who do not subscribe to these Draconian laws of the Parisian code, they are solitary examples.
Father Goriot|Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for draconian

draconian

draconic (dreɪˈkɒnɪk)

/ (dreɪˈkəʊnɪən) /

adjective (sometimes capital)

of or relating to Draco, 7th-century Athenian statesman and lawmaker, or his code of laws, which prescribed death for almost every offence

harshdraconian legislation

Derived Forms

draconianism, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012