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procrustean

 - 3 dictionary results

Pro·crus·te·an

   [proh-kruhs-tee-uhn]
–adjective
1.
pertaining to or suggestive of Procrustes.
2.
(often lowercase) tending to produce conformity by violent or arbitrary means.
Use procrustean in a Sentence
Origin:
1840–50; Procruste(s) + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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World English Dictionary
Procrustean (prəʊˈkrʌstɪən) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—adj
tending or designed to produce conformity by violent or ruthless methods

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin & History

Procrustean
1846 in figurative sense of "aiming to produce conformity by arbitrary means," from Procrustes (1583), mythical robber of Attica who seized travelers, tied them to his bed, and either stretched their limbs or lopped of their legs to make them fit it. The name is Gk. Prokroustes "one who stretches," from prokrouein "to beat out, stretch out," from pro- "before" + krouein "to strike."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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