How to Use draconian in a Sentence

draconian

adjective
  • The editorial criticizes the draconian measures being taken to control the spread of the disease.
  • Even more draconian measures could take the form of no-drive days and gas rationing.
    — Rahul Mukherjee, latimes.com, 1 July 2019
  • The country's best preschools boast more than just draconian velvet rope policies.
    — Nadine Jolie Courtney, Town & Country, 11 Oct. 2016
  • In the case of draconian employers or managers, video might be required as an overkill form of check-in.
    — Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 3 Feb. 2020
  • The safety protocols in place for the new season can feel draconian at times.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 13 Mar. 2021
  • The Taliban are again ruling through fear and draconian rules.
    — Atal Ahmadzai, The Conversation, 18 Jan. 2022
  • Democrats appeared unified against the plan, calling it harsh and draconian.
    — Philip Elliott, Time, 15 June 2018
  • In fact, some of the most draconian laws were passed in the mid-1990s, long after crime rates had gone down.
    — Tanya Golash-Boza, The Cannabist, 6 June 2017
  • Many of the companies in these industries will need to take draconian steps to survive.
    — Gad Levanon, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2020
  • While players are governed by draconian rules, coaches can enjoy the fruits of the free market.
    — Sean Gregory, Time, 29 Mar. 2018
  • That may seem draconian to some Americans, but the data shows these measures worked to save lives.
    — Dean Obeidallah, CNN, 16 Jan. 2022
  • Then there is the nuclear option, a penalty so draconian that no one likes spelling it out in public.
    — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 17 Feb. 2023
  • After New York passed a law with draconian limits on Airbnb, chaos reigns.
    — WIRED, 13 Oct. 2023
  • On the other hand, in some states the misperception has led to draconian policies that don’t square with science.
    — Apoorva Mandavilli New York Times, Star Tribune, 23 Nov. 2020
  • Well, their approach has been very, very severe and rather draconian in the kinds of shutdowns without a seeming purpose.
    — NBC News, 27 Nov. 2022
  • California has the some of the most repressive or draconian gun laws in the country.
    — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2019
  • The government hadn’t yet adopted all of these broad, new draconian detention rules.
    — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2026
  • There are no proposals on the table to make draconian cuts or to make every American pay a fee or tax.
    — Heather Long, chicagotribune.com, 9 Dec. 2017
  • Some point to Musk’s draconian cuts at Twitter as a pivot point for the industry.
    — Clare Duffy, CNN, 6 Apr. 2023
  • Public safety concerns about both seals and sharks could have led to draconian measures, such as culling, but instead nature was left to take its course.
    — Jim Behnke, Scientific American, 2 July 2023
  • People are sending brutal, draconian thank-you cards?
    — Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
  • Churches had long viewed drug use as a moral failure and supported draconian measures—beliefs that many of the faithful shared.
    — Sheila Coronel, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Like many African countries, Ghana has draconian antigay laws dating back to the colonial era.
    — Chioma Nnadi, Vogue, 6 Oct. 2022
  • To be fair, not everyone perceives the AI Act in such draconian terms.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
  • The Taliban interpretation of sharia is among the most draconian in the world.
    — Marcus Yam, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2021
  • Enforcement of laws that embody a policy the enforcers agree with, and doing so in a draconian way, is only one face of the coin.
    — Michael B. Mukasey, National Review, 9 May 2023
  • And those folks have literally seen their labor and delivery unit close in recent years because of these draconian cuts to health care.
    — NBC news, 14 Dec. 2025
  • Maybe not stuck in an urban jam, dodging potholes or crawling amid draconian speed limits – but out there on the open road, taking sunny corners in a nice car?
    — New Atlas, 29 May 2026
  • Reading, for me, was a huge escape, and given the rather draconian rules around TV in our house, a fantastic way to pass the time.
    — Literary Hub september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The more that Americans grow accustomed to being jerks, the more draconian the rules of the Masters seem.
    — Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 6 Apr. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'draconian.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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