high-handed

[ hahy-han-did ]
See synonyms for: high-handedhigh-handedness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. condescending or presumptuous; overbearing; arbitrary: He has a highhanded manner.

Origin of high-handed

1
First recorded in 1625–35

Other words from high-handed

  • high-hand·ed·ly, adverb
  • high-hand·ed·ness, noun

Words Nearby high-handed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use high-handed in a sentence

  • Universal indignation spread through the colonies against this high handed measure of the British king and parliament.

  • We have failed entirely to find any sort of protest against such high-handed proceedings.

    Yachting Vol. 2 | Various.
  • Well, the papers got out an extra edition with scare-heads about "Outrages" and "high-handed Lawlessness!"

    Blazed Trail Stories | Stewart Edward White
  • "You've no right to take such high-handed action," snarled the master of the tug.

British Dictionary definitions for high-handed

high-handed

adjective
  1. tactlessly overbearing and inconsiderate

Derived forms of high-handed

  • high-handedly, adverb
  • high-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