high-handed
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of high-handed
First recorded in 1625–35
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.
Complaints over Merz's high-handed leadership style have boiled over after the personnel changes prompted by the resignation of the CDU's parliamentary leader Jens Spahn.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Triggering the administration’s nuclear response on Friday was Anthropic’s high-handed refusal to give the Defense Department carte blanche to use its technology as it sees fit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026
One official who was involved and spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid facing retribution said they were disgusted by the request’s “brazenness and the high-handed expectation of complicity.”
From Salon ● Nov. 19, 2025
But that relationship will always be hostage to events; either a flare-up in the South China Sea, or any other act by China seen as high-handed by the Vietnamese.
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2023
Never having been a high-handed or demanding girl, she had been able to make a little go a long way.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
