high-handed
/'haigreid/
Definition
- Adjective:
- Arrogantly overbearing and domineering: Describes behavior that is unpleasantly or offensively authoritative, showing a disregard for the opinions, feelings, or rights of others.
- Using power or authority without considering others: Acting in a forceful and decisive way that seems unfair because it ignores consultation or consensus.
Usage and Examples
General Use:
- The manager's high-handed decision to cancel the project without consulting the team caused widespread resentment.
- She was criticized for her high-handed manner in dealing with customer complaints.
Describing Actions or Behavior:
- It was a high-handed act to dismiss the employee without a proper hearing.
- The government's high-handed approach to the new policy sparked public protests.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- "high-handedness" (Noun): The quality or state of being high-handed.
- The public will not tolerate such high-handedness from their elected officials.
- Often implies an abuse of legitimate authority or a failure to follow due process. It suggests the person acting believes they are above the rules or common courtesy.
Variants and Related Words
- Overbearing: Excessively controlling or domineering.
- Arrogant: Having an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities.
- Autocratic: Relating to a ruler who has absolute power; taking no account of other people's wishes.
- Dictatorial: Characteristic of a dictator; tyrannical.
- Imperious: Assuming power or authority without justification; arrogant and domineering.
Synonyms
- Domineering
- Authoritarian
- Despotic
- Peremptory
- Tyrannical
Antonyms
- Democratic
- Humble
- Modest
- Considerate
- Consultative
Idiomatic Expressions and Phrases
- To act in a high-handed manner/fashion: To behave in an imperious and dictatorial way.
- The committee accused the chairman of acting in a high-handed fashion by overriding their vote.
- While "high-handed" itself is not typically part of phrasal verbs, it is commonly used in the phrase "high-handed tactics" to describe forceful, unfair methods.
- The union condemned the company's high-handed tactics during the negotiations.
Adjective
-
given to haughty disregard of others
Khám phá thêm
Các từ liên quan
Từ đồng nghĩa
Từ tương tự
Từ gần giống
Từ chứa "high-handed"
