Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use draconian in a sentence

16 example sentences · adjective, noun

Draconian means very severe, cruel, or harsh. Example: “The mayor announced draconian budget cuts today.”

Examples of draconian by meaning

adjectiveVery severe, cruel, or harsh.

  • The mayor announced draconian budget cuts today.
  • The conflict in the countryside resulted in a far more draconian punishment.2009, Stuart Macintyre, A Concise History of Australia, page 125
  • Perhaps lessons had already been learned from the Draconian infrastructure cuts on the Waterloo-Exeter route.2020 April 8, Howard Johnston, “East-ended? When the ECML was at risk”, in Rail, page 65

adjectiveOf, relating to, characteristic of, or resembling a dragon.

  • It defied every image of a draconian being Kulp had ever seen.2006, Steven Erikson, Deadhouse Gates, Book Two, →ISBN, page 384
  • A large sandwyrm (which isn't to be confused with a sandworm) popped its draconian head from the earth.2009, Jacob Silvia, Qhoenix, page 73

nounA creature resembling a dragon.

  • Draconians keep for pets .2021 August 31, Miranda Martin, Draconians Shared Bride, Looking Glass Publications INC
  • Other draconians followed behind , carrying the companions ' packs and their weapons .2006, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Dragonlance Chronicles, →ISBN

More sentences with draconian

  • Wade and ushered in a wave of draconian abortion laws in mostly red states across the country.2026 March 12, Kimberly Atkins Stohr, “One thing voters agree on: They don’t like the Supreme Court”, in The Boston Globe, retrieved 22…. From the entry shadow docket
  • Trump’s speech had the fingerprints of Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and architect of his draconian immigration policy, all over it.2026 January 21, David Smith, “Trump paints himself as great white hope in racism-drenched Davos speech”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived…. From the entry fester
  • By invoking a wartime authority in service of a peacetime deportation agenda, he has gone beyond what even this draconian power permits.2025 April 24, Katherine Yon Ebright, Elizabeth Goitein, “Trump Is Attempting to Use Wartime Powers in the United States”, in The Atlantic. From the entry agenda
  • Behind the smoke and mirrors lies a cruel and draconian truth: tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy paid for by gutting healthcare for millions of Americans.2025 June 3, David Smith, quoting Chuck Schumer, “Elon Musk calls Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ tax bill a ‘disgusting abomination’”, in The…. From the entry ultra-wealthy
  • No draconian autocratic measures are required.2020, Christine Chiou, “How Taiwan Battles the Coronavirus”, in The Diplomat. From the entry living proof
  • It's a glaring example of how draconian laws are pulled out of thin air and arbitrarily enforced to punish the prominent opposition leader," he said.2019 April 6, Caleb Quinley, “Thailand: Anti-military party leader faces sedition charges”, in Al Jazeera, Doha: Al Jazeera, retrieved 06…. From the entry out of thin air
  • In Detroit, the buzz is that he's too nice a guy, unwilling to impose draconian job cuts at the risk of angering the UAW.2006 September 6, Daren Fonda, “Ford Motor's New Chief: "I Think It's a Tough Situation"”, in Time. From the entry buzz
  • To calm their nerves and dispel the phantoms of their imaginations, the conventionnels proposed a series of fantastic draconian measures designed to insure tranquillity during the voting.1979, David P Jordan, The King's Trial, University of California, published 1979, page 178. From the entry conventionnel
  • The reaction of the European colons, a mixture of shock and fear, was to demand further draconian measures and to suspend any suggestion of new reforms.1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 28. From the entry colon

Meaning of draconian

  1. adjective Very severe, cruel, or harsh.
  2. adjective Of, relating to, characteristic of, or resembling a dragon.
  3. noun A creature resembling a dragon.

Full definition of draconian

Questions about draconian in a sentence

How do you use draconian in a sentence?
Draconian is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “The mayor announced draconian budget cuts today.”
What is a short sentence with draconian?
“Draconians keep for pets .”
What does draconian mean?
Draconian means very severe, cruel, or harsh.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: draconian (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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