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.
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
Khrushchev was ousted in 1964 following a plot by fellow Communist Party leaders who accused him of rude, erratic and high-handed behaviour, policy failures and going against the teaching of Lenin.
From Reuters • Sep. 2, 2022
“But your honor will not deny me this one and only poor privilege of protest against this high-handed outrage upon my citizen’s rights,” Anthony responded.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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.
