high-handed
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- high-handedly adverb
- high-handedness noun
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.
The high-handed rejection of a treatment for Huntington’s disease shows why the biologics chief had to go.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 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
The media criticised him for what was described as high-handed behaviour and an overly lavish lifestyle.
From Reuters • May 5, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
