HATCHET MAN Synonyms: 69 Similar and Opposite Words

hatchet man

noun

Definition of hatchet man next

as in attack dog

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Dissimilar Words

as in wordmonger

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nonauthor

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hatchet man While he was sent by the White House to be a hatchet man, Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon, should use a scalpel with care, conducting a real, legitimate probe that seeks ways to save money for taxpayers and improve outcomes for patients. —

New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 13 Mar. 2026 In 2010, the duo separated, going opposite directions; Malice sought repentance through the church while Pusha became a hatchet man for Kanye West. —

Richard Brody, New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2025 Arthur is known as Conkling’s hatchet man, a customs collector for the Port of New York who’s shown, in one amusing snippet, presiding over the beating of a noncompliant businessman. —

Scott Tobias, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025 The White House and its hatchet men attacking culture are coming for the artists, curators, museum directors, docents, writers, and editors who value freedom and liberation and Black history and women’s history and ideas and progress. —

Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025 Musk’s extracurricular gig as President Donald Trump’s hatchet man has turned the Tesla brand — once a favorite among upwardly mobile lefties — into a symbol of America’s right wing. —

Allison Morrow, CNN, 25 Mar. 2025 Meanwhile, there have been mass firings at the FBI, reportedly instigated by Trump hatchet man Kash Patel, who awaits Senate confirmation to head the FBI. —

Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2025 Back home, more pink slips for federal employees go out and the scrutiny of Elon Musk's role as the hatchet man for those agencies intensifies. —

CBS News, 16 Feb. 2025 Musician and producer Grimes made a rare comment involving her ex-partner and father to her three kids, Elon Musk, after their 4-year-old son appeared alongside the tech mogul turned government hatchet man at the White House on Wednesday. —

Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Feb. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hatchet man

Noun

Vance often has served as an attack dog for the administration, including lashing out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an Oval Office visit.

— Zac Anderson, USA Today, 21 Jan. 2026
Vance has spent the first year as the White House No. 2 as an attack dog for Trump while appealing to the president’s more populist base and burnishing his bona fides with younger conservative voters, particularly Turning Point USA, in the aftermath of the death of co-founder Charlie Kirk.

— Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 19 Jan. 2026