as in cane
a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment
a farmer armed with a cudgel drove us off his land
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to bludgeon
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cudgel
Zac Anderson, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2025
Now, Trump sees the threat of higher U.S. tariffs as a bargaining chip (or cudgel) to make other countries reduce their tariffs down to U.S. levels.
—Chad P. Bown, Foreign Affairs, 11 Mar. 2025
Timothy Ryback, TIME, 26 Apr. 2024
Before long, fairs had such attractions as cudgelling bouts, bearbaiting, and something called gouging.
—Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023
See All Example Sentences for cudgel
Noun
Art of the trade deal Trump enacted tariffs on steel and aluminum for most countries during his first administration and used them as a cudgel against Mexico and Canada to negotiate an update to the North American Free Trade Agreement that was more favorable to the United States.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2025
Now, Trump sees the threat of higher U.S. tariffs as a bargaining chip (or cudgel) to make other countries reduce their tariffs down to U.S. levels.
—Chad P. Bown, Foreign Affairs, 11 Mar. 2025
Verb
Hitler exploited his 37% to gridlock legislative processes, to cudgel or crush the political opposition, and ultimately to undermine the country’s democratic structures.
—Timothy Ryback, TIME, 26 Apr. 2024
Before long, fairs had such attractions as cudgelling bouts, bearbaiting, and something called gouging.
—Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023
See All Example Sentences for cudgel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cudgel
Noun
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An older man walking with a cane was also caught up in the scuffle and fell on his back.—
Meredith Kile,
People.com,
25 Apr. 2025
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Walking with a cane and recovering from a recent illness, Mr. Lev could not resist doing a little jig as stepped upon it to the cheers of friends and family.—
Dina Kraft,
Christian Science Monitor,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
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According to court documents, her daughter Sarra, who suffered from schizophrenia, stabbed her mother 227 times and ultimately bludgeoned her with a fire extinguisher.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
31 Mar. 2025
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This same trait also makes people less likely to bludgeon the machines—a factor that could become increasingly important as humanoid robot manufacturers push for wider adoption across various industries.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
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When more officers got to the scene, while officers held Nichols' arms and hit him with a barrage of kicks, punches, baton strikes and pepper spray.—
Jack Armstrong,
USA Today,
2 May 2025
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Video of the beating, captured by a police pole camera, showed Nichols being held by his arms as officers punched, kicked and struck him with a baton, according to reports from the AP and The Commercial Appeal newspaper.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Kerry Carpenter clouted a key home run for the Detroit Tigers and Cole Ragans has pitched two terrific games for the Kansas City Royals among younger players stepping up.—
Chuck Murr,
Forbes,
9 Oct. 2024
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Not since the former Yankee slugger clouted three home runs in a World Series game against the Dodgers in 1977 has Jackson done more with a pitch in the strike zone.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
22 June 2024
Verb
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Trump had assailed Bezos and his companies during his first term.—
Francesca Chambers,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2025
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And why, in a moment of barbed stories assailing theatrical movie budgets and picture pickers, theatrical moviegoing’s future falls to its best artists, and the studio execs who bet on their big creative swings.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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One of my biggest complaints while testing these knives was about food sticking to the sides while chopping.—
Molly Higgins,
Wired News,
2 May 2025
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Schedules chopped apart by 18 months and one death are a fair guess for accounting.—
Justin Curto,
Vulture,
1 May 2025
Verb
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Guests can also hop a free shuttle to the hotel’s sister property, Skylark Negril Beach Resort, smack on Seven Mile Beach.—
Laura Begley Bloom,
Forbes.com,
30 Apr. 2025
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Someone on the other team took a shot at him, and the puck tipped right under his visor and hit him in the eye, squarely smacking him right in the eyeball.—
Meredith Wilshere,
People.com,
27 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The Penzance Musical, an exquisitely funny, meticulously concocted theatrical pavlova—the 1879 operetta The Pirates of Penzance by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan—has been whacked with a mallet.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
25 Apr. 2025
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During a brutally physical brawl, Bix whacked the lieutenant multiple times in the head with a wrench — killing the rapist, and then his driver, too, for good measure.—
Dalton Ross,
EW.com,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cudgel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cudgel. Accessed 8 May. 2025.
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