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Glite Dictionary
strict but fair

strict but fair

3.6
Demanding that people follow rules while treating everyone the same
  • idiom
translation icon : estricto pero justo
  • In his role as a manager, he adopted a strict but fair style, promoting accountability while supporting his team.

Examples

  • The teacher was strict but fair, ensuring all students followed the rules while treating them kindly.

  • Peter always said that the Master was strict but fair.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • He was strict but fair on the whole.

    Academic text (2008)

  • She maintained a strict but fair approach in her coaching, pushing her players to excel without being harsh.

Synonyms

stern but fair
vsstrict but fair
  • Informal
1 4.6

Strict and just when dealing with people

demands obedience to rules while treating everyone in an unbiased way

Antonyms

indulgent
36 6.1

Willing to let someone have what they want, even if it is not good for them

How Strict

harsh
289 2.8
strict
359 3.2
strict but fair
3.6
lenient
32 4.4
permissive
  • Jargon
14 4.9

Surface Forms

strict but fair positive

Morphology

strict + but + fair

The phrase 'strict but fair' is directly and transparently built from 'strict' (demanding) + 'but' (contrast) + 'fair' (impartial), so its meaning — enforcing rules firmly while remaining impartial — is inferable from the constituents. This contrastive adjective coordination is a common, predictable compositional pattern in English (and in many other languages), making it accessible to a B1 learner who knows the component words.

Etymology

Strict but fair brings to mind a teacher who holds a rule book in one hand and a scale in the other: one side is firm (strict) and the other makes sure everyone is treated the same (fair). So, the phrase means 'demanding discipline while treating people fairly'.