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

The butt of the Axvant is designed to double as a mallet, mostly for knocking in tent stakes and taking care of other basic, non-precision hammering.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 28 Sep. 2026
Perez was assaulted by two men who used a bicycle and a mallet as weapons.

— Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of mallet

Adjective

Snake Killer launched in January, with the four-parter followings a notorious Copenhagen narcotics police unit, Uropatruljen, a heavy-handed force that operated with relative autonomy between 1965 and 2001.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026
The reference is heavy-handed, but the idea is the right one.

— Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 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

After jiggling it in the lock for a bit, Brunson resorts to a sledge hammer and finally a chainsaw, without success.

— Tom Tapp, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026
The influencer has gone to extremes such as hitting himself in the face with a hammer so his bones grow back sharper and taking small amounts of methamphetamine to suppress his appetite.

— Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 23 Sep. 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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot appeared to be trying to crash the aircraft after stabbing the other pilot.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said one of the pilots stabbed the other and apparently attempted to crash the aircraft, which was carrying mostly Israeli passengers.

— Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of stab

Adjective

Central Connecticut State University President Zulma Toro resigned Wednesday following an investigation into a complaint alleging the workplace culture under her leadership was oppressive, bullying and intimidating.

— Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 23 Sep. 2026
In its opening episodes, the series carefully distinguishes Lizzie from her male killer counterparts while highlighting the oppressive conditions women faced in the era.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of oppressive

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Style

“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of sledgehammer

noun

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

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