heavy-handed

[ hev-ee-han-did ]

See synonyms for: heavy-handed heavy-handedness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

oppressive; harsh: a heavy-handed master.
clumsy; graceless: a heavy-handed treatment of the theme.

Origin of heavy-handed

First recorded in 1625–35

Other words from heavy-handed

heav·y-hand·ed·ly, adverb
heav·y-hand·ed·ness, noun

Words Nearby heavy-handed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use heavy-handed in a sentence

The clichés about football-obsessed husbands and frustrated wives are pretty heavy-handed.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits | Emily Shire | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
So was the importance of protest itself, which he vowed to protect from the heavy-handed policies employed by his predecessors.
Eric Garner Protesters Have a Direct Line to City Hall | Jacob Siegel | December 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Some were funny, while some were more heavy handed slams of ISIS simply framed in comedic terms.
Middle East Goes Monty Python on ISIS | Dean Obeidallah | October 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
heavy-handed police work like that carried out by Burge and, apparently, Evans, gets results.
I Was Beaten By Chicago’s Dirtiest Cop, Lawsuit Contends | Justin Glawe | September 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
She said Mars Hill “engages in heavy-handed discipline through a hierarchical structure.”
Another Mega Church Implodes | Warren Throckmorton | September 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

Here John was in charge of the blacks and under his heavy-handed rule the cases were rapidly stowed away.
The Blind Lion of the Congo | Elliott Whitney
It is the same fierce, hard-living, heavy-handed, very cunning service out of which the Navy as we know it to-day was born.
Sea Warfare | Rudyard Kipling
He asked, after a moment, "Don't you think that would be rather a heavy-handed way of dealing with the matter?"
Imaginary Interviews | W. D. Howells
Those heavy-handed mechanics in the district motor pool, for example.
Final Weapon | Everett B. Cole
"If Happy's ghost don't git to playin' music too much," he added with his heavy-handed wit.
The Flying U's Last Stand | B. M. Bower

British Dictionary definitions for heavy-handed

heavy-handed

adjective

clumsy
harsh and oppressive

Derived forms of heavy-handed

heavy-handedly, adverb
heavy-handedness, 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

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