SLEDGEHAMMER Synonyms: 245 Similar and Opposite Words

sledgehammer 1 of 3

noun

Definition of sledgehammer

as in mallet

a large, heavy hammer with a long handle broke up the concrete using a sledgehammer

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sledgehammer

2 of 3

adjective

as in heavy-handed

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Dissimilar Words

sledgehammer

3 of 3

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 sledgehammer

Noun

Officials said the clerk inside the business said five people wearing masks and gloves used sledgehammers and crowbars to break into six gaming machines. — Elyssa Kaufman, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2026 Zeller sets this up ably by incorporating the sledgehammer blows of the builder hired by Toby into percussive passages of Volker Bertelmann’s ominous score. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 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

Under cover of darkness, a squad of SEALs enters a two-story apartment building, slips upstairs, and sledgehammers its way through a wall, awakening a family on the other side. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammer

Noun

Then Kreiz took the mallet and landed a cannon-shot ring on the bell that was so loud that one of the Citadel traders turned around in shock, and even Wall Street veteran Gerry Cardinale’s eyebrows were raised.

— Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026
The ceremony spanned the familiar marble balcony as the market opened and proceeded to a floor-level bell struck with a mallet.

— Dade Hayes, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of mallet

Adjective

The result is aromatic and flavorful without being heavy-handed.

— Andy Baraghani, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026
The power Whitney expressed was more abstract than Beyoncé’s heavy-handed, and still astonishing, Super Bowl halftime performance in 2016, in which the artist stormed the field with a battalion of women dressed as Black Panthers.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of heavy-handed

Verb

Singapore’s education minister has confirmed that teachers are allowed to use caning to discipline unruly students in certain cases.

— Jack Guy, CNN Money, 6 May 2026
In 1994, American teenager Michael Fay was caned at a Singaporean prison for vandalism, a day after his sentence was reduced from six lashes to four in response to an appeal by President Bill Clinton.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 5 May 2026

Definition of cane

Noun

And less than 24 hours later, the NFL dropped the proverbial hammer on Greenlaw.

— Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
With the run as a hammer and Baugh with 600 rushing yards in four games, Faulkner’s attack was at times unstoppable through September.

— Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of hammer

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
Hungary under his rule is far from a jackbooted dictatorship, but its democracy is diverging markedly from that of many of its partners in the European Union.

— Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2018

Definition of jackbooted

Verb

In the narrative to has unfolded from authorities and passenger accounts, Machchhar had the presence of mind to open the locked door of the cockpit after he was stabbed.

— Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Two men accused of stabbing an off-duty NYPD detective pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday.

— Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of stab

Adjective

Resident's death under investigation The Middlesex County District Attorney's office, as well as the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, are examining whether the oppressive heat played any role in the resident's death.

— Kristina Rex, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026
The combination was as oppressive as the thermometer reading.

— Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of oppressive

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Style

“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of sledgehammer

noun

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

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