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
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Dissimilar Words
as in to cane
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sledgehammer
Jeff Spry, Space.com, 10 Dec. 2025
Coles still has a neck like a Doric column and the forearms of someone who swings a sledgehammer 40 hours a week.
—Dan Pompei, New York Times, 2 Dec. 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
Some were as sleek as a stiletto, while others had all the brutal subtlety of a thirty-pound sledgehammer.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 10 Dec. 2025
Coles still has a neck like a Doric column and the forearms of someone who swings a sledgehammer 40 hours a week.
—Dan Pompei, New York Times, 2 Dec. 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
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Lopatin used fast, percussive strikes to keep the score melodic, incorporating mallet strikes to mirror the ping-pong balls.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
26 Dec. 2025
-
Harry sustained a hand injury from a mallet.—
Rachel Marlowe,
Vanity Fair,
22 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Silence and anxiety grip the capital Caracas, caused by the shock of the January 3 attack and the fear of the government’s heavy-handed response.—
Michael Rios,
CNN Money,
6 Jan. 2026
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Across the region, heavy-handed American tactics will risk spurring backlash and unintended consequences.—
Ian Bremmer,
Time,
6 Jan. 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
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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
-
One chapter toward the end of the book tells the story of a relationship in a series over very long sentences that end in a hammer of two brief, brutal questions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Jan. 2026
-
The decision to use that hammer, or double down, has proven to be very strategic.—
Keith Stewart,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
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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The woman who was stabbed is in stable condition, and the man is in critical condition, the spokesperson said.—
Laura Fay,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Early the following morning, Anaheim police officers responded to the intersection of Santa Ana and Helena streets after witnesses reported seeing two men chasing Reyes and one of them stabbing him.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In protest, hundreds of thousands of Iranians went into the streets and were confronted by security forces with batons and shotguns.—
Karl Vick,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
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Several armed law enforcement officials wore helmets and masks and stood outside while holding batons, CNN affiliate KEYE reported.—
Hanna Park,
CNN Money,
11 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Perhaps in Iran, which has been engulfed by mass protests, leading the president to threaten action against an oppressive regime that has bedeviled the United States for nearly half a century.—
Jonathan Lemire,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2026
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Inside, there’s a plush bed, a cushioned chair, and an open wardrobe stocked with robes—essential for cooling down during the oppressive afternoon heat between game drives.—
Nicholas DeRenzo,
Travel + Leisure,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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