iron hand

noun

Firmness, inflexibility, sternness.

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Meanings

nouniron hand (plural iron hands)

plural iron hands

  1. figurativelyFirmness, inflexibility, sternness.

    Reverend Harris ran Clerkebury with an iron hand and an abiding sense of fairness.

    1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, page 41
    1 more example

    The mental hospital setting is merely a symbol for the world, and in it the powers that be rule with an iron hand.

    1975 December 20, “"Cuckoo's Nest" Still a Valid Statement of the Non-conformist's Struggles”, in Gay Community News, volume 3, number 25, page 13

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
iron fist
Cite this entry
APA

iron hand. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/iron%20hand

MLA

“iron hand.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/iron%20hand. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “iron hand,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/iron%20hand.

Source: iron hand on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.