1
as in attack dog
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2
as in wordmonger
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Recent Examples of hatchet man
The hatchet man, of course, was John Howard Lawson, and his boss was a man named V.J. Jerome [the Communist Party USA’s longtime cultural commissar].
—
Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2026
The thinking around Washington was that Jon Husted, who was put in his seat after J.D. Vance left it to become Trump’s right-hand hatchet man, would be a responsible custodian who could coast through this November’s special election to finish out the balance of Vance’s term.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 20 Apr. 2026
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
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
Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2026
The thinking around Washington was that Jon Husted, who was put in his seat after J.D. Vance left it to become Trump’s right-hand hatchet man, would be a responsible custodian who could coast through this November’s special election to finish out the balance of Vance’s term.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 20 Apr. 2026
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hatchet man
Noun
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Pulte, the 38-year-old director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is best known for his role as a partisan attack dog for the president.—
Eric McDaniel,
NPR,
11 June 2026
-
After Trump won, Giuliani continued as his attack dog, even traveling to Ukraine to seek damaging information about Biden’s son Hunter.—
Michael R. Sisak,
Los Angeles Times,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
Joe Biden sued the Justice Department on Tuesday in an effort to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts of the former president’s interview with a ghostwriter that were obtained by the special counsel who investigated his handling of classified documents.—
Alanna Durkin Richer,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2026
-
Joe Biden sued the DOJ to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts of conversations with the ghostwriter of his 2017 memoir.—
Elizabeth Robinson,
NBC news,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
I'mPhaedra Trethan, watching a video about the smartest dog breeds while sitting beside my pit bull-boxer mix, whose eyes show no thoughts of anything but treats, sleep and love.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
17 June 2026
-
Increasingly, fatal dog bites spark spirited debate about banning some dog breeds, including pit bulls.—
Natasha Holt,
FOXNews.com,
14 June 2026
Noun
-
Powering the portable scribbler is 1.7-GHz dual-core processing supported by 2 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
8 Sep. 2025
-
All remaining scribblers should lay down their squibs and come out, squinting, arms aloft in surrender.—
Jayson Greene,
Time,
17 June 2025
Noun
-
Think helicopter moms, tiger moms, and alpha moms.—
Sherri Gordon,
Parents,
20 June 2026
-
The zoo houses more than 100 animals including lions, tigers and capybaras, according to its website.—
Adela Suliman,
NBC news,
19 June 2026
Noun
-
Data breaches, ransomware attacks and cybersecurity hacks have impacted government systems before and are only likely to worsen with the rise of artificial intelligence, some experts say.—
Taylor Croft,
AJC.com,
21 June 2026
-
But the quickest, easiest, and latest hack, for that matter, isn’t always the best way to do something, which certainly goes for anything in life.—
Rebecca Jones,
Southern Living,
19 June 2026
Noun
-
Beatty’s biographer, Peter Biskind, also famously estimated that the number of women Beatty had slept with could be as high as 12,275.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
13 June 2026
-
Beatty’s biographer, Peter Biskind, also famously estimated that the number of women Beatty had slept with could be as high as 12,275.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
Waititi and cowriter Dahvi Waller were able to weave together an uplifting, warm story starring Jenna Ortega as Klara, the Artificial Friend who is adopted by a woman (Amy Adams) as a companion for her daughter Josie (Mia Tharia).—
Rebecca Ford,
Vanity Fair,
18 June 2026
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At least one of his cowriter nominees, Mehdi Mahmoudian, was unable to leave Iran to attend Sunday’s awards.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hatchet man.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hatchet%20man. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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