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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to cane
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sledgehammer
Laura Kelly, The Hill, 9 Mar. 2025
Doing it with the ‘sledgehammer’ of a larger Tariff than 1930′s Smoot-Hawley, was bound to cause Turmoil in stocks, bonds, credit and commodities.
—Fred Imbert, CNBC, 7 Apr. 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
Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, 31 Mar. 2020
Perhaps the most brazen took place in 1958, when two men sledgehammered the Fifth Avenue display windows in the middle of the night.
—James Barron, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2020
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Noun
One of these chefs is Musk, who directed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to take a sledgehammer to USAID, the independent foreign aid group nominally under Rubio’s purview.
—Laura Kelly, The Hill, 9 Mar. 2025
Doing it with the ‘sledgehammer’ of a larger Tariff than 1930′s Smoot-Hawley, was bound to cause Turmoil in stocks, bonds, credit and commodities.
—Fred Imbert, CNBC, 7 Apr. 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 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
Perhaps the most brazen took place in 1958, when two men sledgehammered the Fifth Avenue display windows in the middle of the night.
—James Barron, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2020
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammer
Noun
-
On a cutting board, lightly pound with a meat mallet to even thickness.—
Sarah Martens,
Better Homes & Gardens,
9 Apr. 2025
-
The black-and-white films all feature 9-year-old Saint hitting wrestlers with a mallet, set to a new Ye album.—
Justin Curto,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
In a rare on-air rebuke April 27, longtime correspondent for the CBS newsmagazine Scott Pelley said the broadcaster's parent company Paramount had become heavy-handed in its oversight.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2025
-
Liverpool didn’t win, but their fans were stitched up by typical heavy-handed French policing of English football fans.—
Andy Mitten,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
Rattan appears in just the stool and card table, while complementary materials like raffia, caning, and jute help anchor the room with a neutral foundation.—
Monika Biegler Eyers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Read Next Texas 65-year-old fights back with hammer as 3 dogs kill her in backyard, TX cops say April 15, 2025 3:50 PM Read Next National 72-year-old shot dead by caretaker, MN family says.—
Mitchell Willetts,
Kansas City Star,
23 Apr. 2025
-
The bronze door of St. Peter’s is half closed, and the bells are rung with a hammer.—
Paolo Armelli,
Vogue,
21 Apr. 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
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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
Verb
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The passenger who shot him was stabbed in the back and lungs and remains in critical condition, according to CBS News.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
-
In March, a teen was stabbed in the eye during school hours, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the incident who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The baton came back to him once Paramount Plus gave a green light to The Challenge: All Stars, and OGs like himself were given a second shot at glory.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
16 Apr. 2025
-
Arne Slot has picked up the baton from Jurgen Klopp and looks almost certain to lead Liverpool to their first Premier League title since 2019-20, even if the prospect of a more remarkable campaign has fallen by the wayside, following defeat in the Carabao Cup final and their Champions League exit.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The Collector is also hoping these will satiate the growing wants of his oppressive overlord, The Forger (Roddy Ricch), who has mysterious motives of his own.—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
17 Apr. 2025
-
The current war in Sudan involves civil strife and shifting allegiances, in which one oppressive regime was toppled by a coalition, which then turned in on itself, leading to an even more vicious war.—
Lawrence D. Freedman,
Foreign Affairs,
14 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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