a heavy hand

heavy hand

An excessive, authoritarian, or oppressive way or manner (of doing something). My father always punished us with a heavy hand. The government keeps tight control over any dissenting opinions or rebellious inclinations through the heavy hand of its secret police. Try not to have a heavy hand with the seasoning—you can always add more after you taste it.See also: hand, heavy

a heavy hand

If a person or organization in a position of power uses or has a heavy hand, they use a lot of force to control people. Henry and Richard both ruled with a heavy hand, but they were gone from the kingdom for years at a time. The heavy hand of the military has not prevented their economies from doing very well. Note: Heavy-handed is used to describe people or actions that use a lot of force. He criticized what he saw as the police's heavy-handed attempts to control the crowd.See also: hand, heavy