strongman
Americannoun
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strongmen
plural
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a person who performs remarkable feats of strength, as in a circus.
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a political leader who controls by force; dictator.
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the most powerful or influential person in an organization or business, by reason of skill in the formulation and execution of plans, work, etc.
noun
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a performer, esp one in a circus, who performs feats of strength
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any person regarded as a source of power, capability, initiative, etc
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of strongman
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.
See Examples For:
After the Yugoslav strongman was ousted amid widespread protests in 2000, Vucic became a senior figure of the far-right Serbian Radical Party.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
A residential complex once touted as part of former strongman leader Hugo Chavez's flagship housing program has been left uninhabitable in Venezuela's earthquake disaster.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
He is a defense attorney who became rich representing underworld figures, including right-wing paramilitary commanders who trafficked cocaine to U.S. cities and Alex Saab, the alleged money launderer for former Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
It is the most popular game on earth because it asks for nothing but a ball and other people, and rewards what the strongman cannot abide: cooperation, trust, the surrender of the self.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
She couldn’t see Papa, but Mama was feverishly digging, flinging big bags around like she was a strongman.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
It was a fitting conversation for two strongmen, who have described each other as best friends, and who, after a combined 39 years in power, show no signs of stepping down.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
Many countries fell under the domination of caudillos, or strongmen whose power stemmed from financial control of the land’s resources.
From Barron's ● Jan. 18, 2026
The moment also marked a victory for the son of Cuban immigrants who has long sought to confront the hemisphere’s strongmen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
“Especially in a city of refugees like Miami, a lot of people have escaped dictatorships and strongmen who’ve shut down dissenting opinions,” said Costantini in an interview Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2025
I hadn’t seen it while they were sitting, but now that they were moving it was painfully obvious they were church strongmen.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
