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
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cudgel
Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 3 Feb. 2026
In the move to obliterate diversity, equity and inclusion, one word — merit — has stood out as an effective cudgel.
—Kenji Yoshino, Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2026
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
Voices on the British Right have used the scandal as a cudgel against Labour and Starmer in particular.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 3 Feb. 2026
In the move to obliterate diversity, equity and inclusion, one word — merit — has stood out as an effective cudgel.
—Kenji Yoshino, Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2026
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
-
An elderly man holding a cane is also shown in the upper left area of the painting.—
Andrea Flores,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The victim told police he was burned, forced to consume alcohol and beaten with aluminum bats, a walking cane and a belt, per CBS Austin, WDBJ 7 and KHOU 11.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Celtics closed out their final extended road trip of the season by bludgeoning the Bucks, 133-101, at Fiserv Forum.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Maryland continues to bludgeon hardworking Marylanders with skyrocketing costs related to living in the state.—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Even after Parry passed away in 2018 and the baton was passed to Lauria, Consortium News has served as an independent voice.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Nantwi, 22, was struck dozens of times by guards who used their fists, boots and batons.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But they are outnumbered by propagandists, trolls, anxious commentators, war-market gamblers, and clout chasers who, apparently, became experts on the Strait of Hormuz overnight.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2026
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Fielder clouted 95 over his two-year deal and 245 overall for Detroit until 1996.—
Chuck Murr,
Forbes.com,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In the years following the departure of Ailes, many critics further assailed the network for eroding any line between news reporting and commentary and political advocacy.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
10 Apr. 2026
-
In 2019, Fuentes started to send his supporters to assail Kirk with views that had largely been confined to the fringes of the internet.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In February, California's Department of Transportation (Caltrans) started chopping hundreds of trees to expand Highway 49 in Grass Valley from the McKnight Way interchange to Allison Ranch Road.—
Kayla Moeller,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
-
There are likely many more programs that could be chopped without most people noticing.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But that came with a whole different kind of pressure, one that didn’t feed into Hurley’s psyche as the chronic Dom Quixote in search of another windmill to smack around.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
6 Apr. 2026
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During that time, the moon will appear mostly dark, which will give the astronauts a chance to observe the sun’s corona and look for flashes of light from rocky objects smacking into the moon.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
President Joe Biden had that whack job named Sam Brinton as the deputy assistant director of the Department of Energy.—
Joe Soucheray,
Twin Cities,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Airline stocks are getting whacked this morning thanks to the oil price surge.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cudgel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cudgel. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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