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
Jp Mangalindan, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Also for a small fee, guests can use a wooden sledgehammer to smash a pumpkin and feed the pieces to three cows and a couple of pigs, all eager for the treats.
—Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Oct. 2025
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
Eighteen years old and 13 pounds too light to join the Marines, the wiry, wide-eyed teen watched his recruiter zip through the aisles, grabbing a roll of tape, a sledgehammer, and a length of lead pipe.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Also for a small fee, guests can use a wooden sledgehammer to smash a pumpkin and feed the pieces to three cows and a couple of pigs, all eager for the treats.
—Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Oct. 2025
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
-
According to police, the 37-year-old woman and her daughters followed the alleged victim into a cafe on the 1100 block of Oak Street, across the street from the Oakland Museum of California, hit her with the mallet, ripped out her hair and took her phone.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Crush into fine crumbs with a rolling pin or meat mallet.—
Ann Taylor Pittman,
Southern Living,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This doesn’t require heavy-handed regulation.—
Gerard Scimeca,
Mercury News,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Yet the accumulation of damages and the effects of heavy-handed state management are eroding efficiency and resilience.—
TATIANA MITROVA,
Foreign Affairs,
5 Nov. 2025
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
-
The man, David Wayne DePape, was sentenced to life in prison for the attack with a hammer that left Paul Pelosi bleeding and unconscious.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Sourced from a military memorabilia trader in Dallas, Texas, the helmet was flattened in a press, rather than with a hammer, to preserve its original markings and imperfections.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
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Jared Luecke, 33, is facing murder and tampering with evidence charges and is accused of repeatedly stabbing John Luecke with a knife and hitting him with a crowbar, according to court records.—
Matthew Cupelli,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Nov. 2025
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Hennen spent 30 months in prison for intent to distribute cocaine and was separately arrested for assault after stabbing someone.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
That performance included baton twirlers and horses galloping through the crowd.—
Tom Tapp,
Deadline,
8 Nov. 2025
-
People have decided who is going to be the next person, and then just passing down the baton.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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These political executions are a callous attempt by the authorities to frighten and silence an increasingly restive population no longer willing to accept their corrupt and oppressive rule.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Unlike the oppressive governments that have been affiliated with the socialist movement, modern-day democratic socialism strictly advocates for policies that can be enacted without threatening the power of the people.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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