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take-no-prisoners

American  
[teyk-noh-priz-uh-nerz, ‑-priz-nerz] / ˈteɪkˌnoʊˈprɪz ə nərz, ‑ˈprɪz nərz /

adjective

  1. wholeheartedly aggressive; zealous; gung-ho.

    a businessman with a take-no-prisoners attitude toward dealmaking.


Etymology

Origin of take-no-prisoners

First recorded in 1990–95

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.

Her allies see hints of Margaret Thatcher in her take-no-prisoners style.

From BBC • Oct. 11, 2024

Not content to be serviceably generic, however, the Mark Bacci script takes a third-act turn into full-on, take-no-prisoners melodrama, from which it never recovers.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2023

Mr. Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, has signaled that he plans to run as a happy warrior, seeing it as a way to distance himself from Mr. Trump’s take-no-prisoners approach to politics.

From Washington Times • May 19, 2023

Forced ranking of employees was famously pioneered by Jack Welch, the take-no-prisoners CEO of General Electric, who influenced a generation of top executives at Boeing.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 6, 2023

After the dinner rush, the entire kitchen is a mess, like there was some kind of take-no-prisoners food fights.

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

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