high-handed

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

No matter how high-handed he sounds giving advice or how much he bothers me, I would be a fool not to listen.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black