crackdown
Getting tough now
A crackdown is a sudden, forceful effort to enforce rules or suppress undesirable activity: a crackdown on illegal immigration, a police crackdown on street crime.
The term implies authorities had been lenient or inactive before taking stricter action.
To crack down is the corresponding verb: The city is cracking down on unlicensed vendors.
Forcibly end unrest
- quashSuppress or nullify
- repressHold back forcibly
- stifleSuppress or restrain
- censorOne who suppresses content
silence · curtail · clampdown · subdue · squash · curb · stamp out · root out
Sudden armed incursion
confiscate · apprehend · investigate · compliance · sweep · bust · roundup · search
System of governance
- dictatorshipUnchecked single-ruler government
- censorshipOfficial content restriction
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
- totalitarianDictatorial, all-controlling regime
police state · surveillance state · martial law · curfew · junta · strongman · political repression · dissent
Extremely harsh, especially laws
- harshUnpleasantly severe or rough
- punitiveInflicting or intending penalty
- heavy-handedClumsy and oppressive
- ruthlessLacking any compassion
relentless · merciless · uncompromising · brutal · forceful · stern · stringent · sweeping
quell
Forcibly end unrest
censor · silence · curtail · clampdown · subdue · squash · curb · stamp out · root out · wipe out
raid
Sudden armed incursion
seize · confiscate · apprehend · investigate · compliance · sweep · bust · roundup · search · custody
regime
System of governance
- dictatorshipUnchecked single-ruler government
- censorshipOfficial content restriction
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
totalitarian · police state · surveillance state · martial law · curfew · junta · strongman · political repression · dissent · protest
draconian
Extremely harsh, especially laws
- harshUnpleasantly severe or rough
- punitiveInflicting or intending penalty
- heavy-handedClumsy and oppressive
ruthless · relentless · merciless · uncompromising · brutal · forceful · stern · stringent · sweeping · extreme
- compound wordsbookmark, sunlight, breakup, snowflake, checkout
- policingpatrol, police powers, arrests, police officer, arrest
- decisive actionsultimatum, veto, verdict, ruling, declaration
- Downdownward, downhill, downstairs, downstream, downwind
- criminal lawcrime, felony, misdemeanor, murder, robbery
- drug enforcementDEA, drug bust, narcotics, drug raid, interdiction
crackdownleniency
Mildness in punishment
permissiveness · tolerance · indulgence · forbearance · amnesty
crackdownliberalization
Reducing state economic controls
deregulation · relaxation · loosening · decriminalization · legalization