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
Jason Quick, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
It was later revealed that the culprits allegedly used a homemade bomb and a sledgehammer to break into the museum.
—Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Noun
The man who lifted the Denver Nuggets to a 125-113 win over Minnesota by scoring 20 points, all while absorbing the sledgehammer forays of Julius Randle, does not own a car.
—Jason Quick, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
It was later revealed that the culprits allegedly used a homemade bomb and a sledgehammer to break into the museum.
—Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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
Verb
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
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammer
Noun
-
Does someone’s head get crushed with a mallet?—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Using the flat side of a meat mallet or a rolling pin, pound pork to a ¼- to ½-inch thickness.—
Wini Moranville,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
That's a little heavy-handed, no?—
Matt Reigle OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
10 May 2026
-
This offseason, the league assembled a committee to evaluate potential changes, and the early result has been a heavy-handed whistle from officials.—
Brian Hamilton,
New York Times,
9 May 2026
Verb
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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
-
Alas, Shao Khan smashes Cole’s head with a hammer, Gallagher style, and shoves his body into a vat of acid.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
12 May 2026
-
The victim said that a man, identified in documents as 43-year-old Lance Tolbert, had emerged from one of the stalls and began attacking him with a hammer.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
10 May 2026
Adjective
-
Karol let those lines here serve as her brief indictment of the present, jackbooted environment around immigration and repression in the United States.—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Apr. 2026
-
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
Verb
-
Bahm, who was on a call with 911 pleading for help, was also fatally stabbed after Fahim pushed through the door while Bahm was still on the call.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
12 May 2026
-
Joao Palhinha drove into the box and stabbed over with his left foot.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
Harper and Fox each scored 24 points and Stephon Castle added 20 as the Spurs guards unflinchingly took the baton from their 7-foot-4 superstar and turned the rest of the night into a midrange clinic with an array of pull-up jumpers in and around the paint.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 May 2026
-
With the top line of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis still in the starting blocks, as far as production goes, the second line has grabbed the baton and finished two legs of the race.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
10 May 2026
Adjective
-
Beyond its pleasures as a noir, the chronicle of Kolechko’s fight against nascent Soviet power easily reminds one of present-day Ukraine’s struggle to preserve its dignity in the face of oppressive forces.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
-
But the sweltering, sticky, oppressive facepalm of summer doesn’t make the other seasons more palatable.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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