as in batons
a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment
a farmer armed with a cudgel drove us off his land
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Recent Examples of cudgels
Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Verb
Major events, like football games, are often used as cudgels to force a deal, with both the distributor and broadcaster eager to ensure the events are available to subscribers.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cudgels
Noun
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The plaintiffs later accused the department of violating the order by hitting journalists with batons and arresting them during an August protest.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
15 Sep. 2025
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Reuters reported that police used water cannons, batons, rubber bullets and tear gas against protesters.—
Andrew Stanton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Dexter then stabs Prater in the chest and chops his body into pieces.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Cracker Barrel in Belleville still has lots of space between the tables, which is good, because a statistically improbable number of customers the other morning were using canes or walkers.—
Neal Rubin,
Freep.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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Fennell explained that grapevine canes, the woody stems that support grape clusters, are an abundant, cellulose-rich material, and are available in the large quantities each year after harvest.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
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While Arj is off living the good life, the pair now have to scrape together enough money to survive, and the movie once again hammers home the injustices of the gig economy.—
Hershal Pandya,
Vulture,
7 Sep. 2025
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From Pong to Fortnite, Minor’s investigation is a broad stroke that really hammers home just how vast and varied the gaming industry is.—
Joshua Lamb,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Andor hates him on sight, which only intensifies when Berend smacks around his mother and tears up the apartment looking for proof that Klára has deceived the boy with idealized fictions about his origins.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
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Vocals are sped up into squiggles, instruments are reversed and gated, percussion smacks you in the face and then suddenly vanishes.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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His visit to her is the kind of single scene where an Oscar winner like Steenburgen knocks it out of the park.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
11 Sep. 2025
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The fun-loving entertainment hub doesn't yet have a US product page, but is up for pre-order on Amazon for US$799 (though there is a promo coupon available at time of writing that knocks a few dollars off that ticket price).—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Instead, Ted slaps him in the face, twice.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
5 Sep. 2025
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Anthony thinks his fiancé wants a mother more than a partner, so Giuseppe slaps a pie into his face?—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Even as Russia attacks power plants, grids, and neighborhoods, Ukraine’s energy system has endured and adapted, becoming a decentralized network that keeps homes lit, factories running, and morale intact.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile, on the opposite side, Eze attacks the space vertically — rather than diagonally behind the centre-backs — to be in Pedro Porro’s blindside as Munoz is carrying the ball forward.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cudgels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cudgels. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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