as in cane
a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment
guards armed with bludgeons roamed the compound
Synonyms & Similar Words
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1
as in to slap
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
remodelers bludgeoned the wall with a sledgehammer to join the two rooms
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to lick
to strike repeatedly
a boxer bludgeoning his opponent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bludgeon
Dana Karni, Ibrahim Dahman and Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 14 Feb. 2025
This in turn opens up the music, changing it from a bludgeon to a balm.
—Stephen Kearse, TIME, 8 Dec. 2024
Marisa Peñaloza, NPR, 9 Mar. 2025
Robert Raymond Cook was executed roughly 65 years ago after being found guilty of killing his father Raymond Cook while being suspected of murdering his stepmother Daisy Cook, and bludgeoning his five young half-siblings — between the ages of 3 and 9 — to death in their sleep.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 24 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for bludgeon
Noun
Related article Holocaust becomes political bludgeon as Netanyahu returns to a country at crossroads
Dekel-Chen was 35 years old when he was kidnapped while trying to defend his Nir Oz from Hamas attackers.
—Dana Karni, Ibrahim Dahman and Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 14 Feb. 2025
This in turn opens up the music, changing it from a bludgeon to a balm.
—Stephen Kearse, TIME, 8 Dec. 2024
Verb
Local activist Amelia Boynton Robinson was bludgeoned.
—Marisa Peñaloza, NPR, 9 Mar. 2025
Robert Raymond Cook was executed roughly 65 years ago after being found guilty of killing his father Raymond Cook while being suspected of murdering his stepmother Daisy Cook, and bludgeoning his five young half-siblings — between the ages of 3 and 9 — to death in their sleep.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 24 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for bludgeon
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bludgeon
Noun
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Carrying a wooden cane, Camus led Yarvin through the small town of Plieux.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
2 June 2025
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The former sovereign sometimes walks with a cane for support and was hospitalized after falling at her Fredensborg Castle home in September 2024.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
8 May 2025
Verb
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The European Union has been working to strike a trade agreement with the US, conscious in particular of Trump’s recent threat to slap a 50% tariff on goods arriving from the bloc.—
Anna Cooban,
CNN Money,
5 June 2025
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Price hikes happened quickly after Trump slapped steep levies on trading partners, whether large or small.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
4 June 2025
Verb
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Jose shrugs, pleads with her to not lick anyone at the inn, and leaves.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
22 May 2025
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But Fahy, Alcock, and director Nicole Kassell are also very good at their jobs, and so even downright bizarre moments like Simone chewing Michaela’s used gum or Devon randomly licking a landscaper’s neck wind up making a strange sort of sense.—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
22 May 2025
Noun
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When funding for these circulars came to an end, Fred picked up the eclipse baton and with the help of Canadian meteorologist Jay Anderson, produced their own eclipse circulars, funded under the auspices of NASA.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
3 June 2025
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YoungBoy takes the baton and aims at his detractors.—
Michael Saponara,
Billboard,
21 May 2025
Verb
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Lightning hits the United States approximately 25 million times annually.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
7 June 2025
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During that offseason, Gardner-Johnson hit the free agency market and inked a one-year deal to join the Detroit Lions.—
Justin Grasso,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 June 2025
Verb
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Such pollutants accumulate on the ocean’s surface near the Tijuana River, and then are released as wave action pounds the water and forms bubbles that burst.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2025
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After the car came to a stop, the video showed, angry Liverpool fans swarmed it again, pounding on its windows and exterior as police rushed to secure the scene.—
Chantal Da Silva,
NBC news,
28 May 2025
Noun
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Those kinds of broadsides could be a particularly powerful cudgel against Trump just five months into his second term.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
7 June 2025
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Trump has used the ECB’s recent rate cuts as a cudgel with which to pressure Fed Chair Jerome Powell.—
Anna Cooban,
CNN Money,
5 June 2025
Verb
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With two outs and a runner on in the fourth, Tyler Fitzgerald smacked a fastball from Cabrera to left field.—
Steve Gorten,
Miami Herald,
1 June 2025
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Crawford got ahold of an Alcala fastball, sending it off the scoreboard ribbon in right field and erasing a lead that the Twins had been protecting since the second inning when Wallner, in his first major league at-bat since April 15, smacked a two-run home run.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
1 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bludgeon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bludgeon. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.
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