as in mallet
a large, heavy hammer with a long handle
broke up the concrete using a sledgehammer
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as in heavy-handed
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in to cane
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sledgehammer
Bethany Rodgers, The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Sep. 2021
The Academy Award winner quickly turned into a sledgehammer pro, getting involved in breaking through walls and ripping out fixtures.
—Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE.com, 9 July 2021
Christian Clark, NOLA.com, 24 Nov. 2020
The suit stemmed from a May 10, 2019, incident in which police sledgehammered the front gate of his Outer Richmond home, held him in handcuffs for hours and seized his phone, computers and other equipment.
—Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, 31 Mar. 2020
Sonam Sheth
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025
That threat to a Ukrainian official in the Kherson region involved being dragged by a Russian security officer to a basement and presented with an ultimatum backed by a sledgehammer.
—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Noun
And Sundwall said that, in retrospect, state health officials took a sledgehammer approach to mitigating the pandemic, such as school closings in 2020, when the state could have taken a more surgical tack.
—Bethany Rodgers, The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Sep. 2021
The Academy Award winner quickly turned into a sledgehammer pro, getting involved in breaking through walls and ripping out fixtures.
—Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE.com, 9 July 2021
Adjective
The move means the 7-foot Kiwi will be under contract for the next three seasons and signals that at a time when the game is becoming increasingly perimeter-oriented, the Pelicans will try to sledgehammer their way to wins.
—Christian Clark, NOLA.com, 24 Nov. 2020
The suit stemmed from a May 10, 2019, incident in which police sledgehammered the front gate of his Outer Richmond home, held him in handcuffs for hours and seized his phone, computers and other equipment.
—Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, 31 Mar. 2020
Verb
This ruling takes a sledgehammer to an already overstretched health care network, and Mainers statewide will feel the effects of defunding Maine Family Planning, regardless of their insurance status.
—Sonam Sheth
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025
That threat to a Ukrainian official in the Kherson region involved being dragged by a Russian security officer to a basement and presented with an ultimatum backed by a sledgehammer.
—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammer
Noun
-
That final phase of gravitational wave emission is known as the ringdown phase because of its similarity to what happens to a bell when it’s struck with a mallet, clapper, or a jacquemart.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
17 Sep. 2025
-
They’re placed on or next to the body and struck with a mallet to release a calming vibration and mellifluous tone that eases muscles, sparking an immediately soothing effect on the nervous system and improving synaptic responses in the brain.—
Terry Elward,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The heavy-handed Wu, who won 72% of the vote in this month’s preliminary election, forcing her only opponent to drop out, apparently wants more.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
25 Sep. 2025
-
However, heavy-handed immigration tactics have eroded some of those gains.—
Douglas Schoen,
Oc Register,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Visuals also showed some people receiving CPR. Uncontrollable crowd Police started caning people at one gate, leading to more chaos, said Mithun Singh, a software engineer among the crowd.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
5 June 2025
-
Both failed to fire, and the hero of the Battle of New Orleans, with a hair-trigger temper, began caning the would-be assassin.—
Barbara A. Perry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Drive or hammer in screws or nails at a slight angle, countersinking them below the surface of the wood.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
25 Sep. 2025
-
In crude mines across Central and Sub-Saharan Africa, hands that should hold pencils and schoolbooks hammer rocks and search for the minerals that power electric vehicle batteries, solar cells, and wind turbines.—
Xanthe Scharff,
Time,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Cooper was obsessed with the New World Order and the actions of jackbooted government enforcers against the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, and white separatist Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge, Idaho.—
Andrew Stuttaford,
WSJ,
19 Sep. 2018
-
Likethumb_up Replyreply Linklink Copy Reportflag eraley 22 minutes ago Trump’s America and his jackbooted thugs.—
Marwa Eltagouri,
Washington Post,
28 May 2018
Verb
-
Castillo was stabbed to death before her attackers allegedly cut open her abdomen, according to an autopsy cited by the outlet.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
-
In the wake of the stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail train, the state legislature introduced a bill to crack down on bail for violent offenders, drawing praise from one crime expert.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Early that morning at the Ashmont MBTA station, Bartlett physically assaulted a homeless man without legal justification – striking the victim in the leg three times with a steel police baton.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
22 Sep. 2025
-
The following day, conductor Reab Ahmed took the baton, widely celebrated as the youngest and first Saudi maestro to lead national orchestra.—
Billboard Arabia,
Billboard,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Joy speaks at length about growing up in a culturally sophisticated yet oppressive family and holding her artistic temperament in check, before achieving a belated liberation.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
-
The oppressive regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran has kept her away.—
Kamal Morgan,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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