Meaning & Definition of Roughshod in English

1. (of a horse) having horseshoes with projecting nails to prevent slipping

2. (of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering

• "A barbarous crime"

• "Brutal beatings"

• "Cruel tortures"

• "Stalin's roughshod treatment of the kulaks"

• "A savage slap"

• "Vicious kicks"

3. Unjustly domineering

• "Incensed at the government's heavy-handed economic policies"

• "A manager who rode roughshod over all opposition"