The most popular online dictionary and thesaurus for learners of English
strongman
noun [C] /ˈstrɒŋ.mæn/
/ˈstrɑːŋ-/ (plural -men /-men/ )Definition
› a man who is employed or famous for his great physical strength: If she talks to the police, Joey's strongmen will be paying her a visit.Gender-related attributesKinds of womenKinds of men › literary a person who is very powerful and able to cause change, especially of a political type: Haitian strongman Duvalier could feel his power slipping away.Powerful people and dictators
(Definition of strongman noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
Focus on the pronunciation of strongman
Browse related topics
You are looking at an entry to do with Powerful people & dictators, but you might be interested in these topics from the Politics topic area:
- Colonisation & self-government
- Elections
- Government ministers & civil servants
- International relations: diplomacy & mediation
- International relations: European politics & government
- International relations: international politics & government
- International relations: spying and espionage
- International relations: United States politics & government
- Leaders of national & regional governments
- Patriotism & nationalism
- Political movements & groups
- Politics - general words
- Republics & kingdoms
- Ruling & governing
- Systems of government
- Taking action against people in power
- UK politics: government administration & organisation
- UK politics: government departments & organizations
- UK politics: legislation & law-making
- UK politics: local government & politics
- Voters & candidates in elections
Browse the Dictionary
Browse the Thesaurus
SMART Thesaurus: Powerful people & dictators
Synonyms and related words:
- a heavy hitter idiom
- authoritarian adjective
- autocrat noun
- autocratic adjective
- Big Brother noun
- despot noun
- dictator noun
- dictatorial adjective
- establishment noun (ORGANIZATION)
- figurehead noun (PERSON)
- grey eminence noun
- oppressor noun
- plutocrat noun
- potentate noun
- power broker noun
- tyrant noun
- voiceless adjective
- warlord noun
- éminence grise noun
Our dictionaries
Word of the Day
spurn
to refuse to accept something or someone because you feel that they are not worth having
Blog
Read our blog about how the English language behaves.
New Words
Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.
