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

However, according to the report, violence is increasing in museum thefts, with thieves using instruments such as dynamite, guns, and sledgehammers to gain access to treasures and deter employees from interfering. — News Desk, Artforum, 24 Aug. 2026 Tools and tool parts, including wrenches, chainsaw blades, rakes and sledgehammers also appear, along with electronics like smartphones, television cameras, radar apparatuses, video monitors and parts for manufacturing electronics. — Zachary Folk, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 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

Perez was assaulted by two men who used a bicycle and a mallet as weapons.

— Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 8 Sep. 2026
Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy skillet, pound the chicken to a uniform 1/2-inch thickness.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of mallet

Adjective

What stays with the audience are heavy-handed moral lessons, more than an entertaining couple of hours in the cinema.

— Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
Other heavy-handed touches intrude on the film’s sophistication, such as the female protagonist of Jeremy’s novel being like a character trapped in her own existence, unsubtly indicating what Sofia is feeling.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 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

There have been plenty of in-game rotations, promising combinations, fluidity and creativity, but without the delivery of a final hammer blow.

— Cerys Jones, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
At a museum in eastern France, two men disguised with wigs used a sledgehammer and a hammer to smash a display case and make off with a 2,500-year-old gold necklace.

— ABC News, ABC News, 10 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

In August 2025, police said, Brown rode the light rail in Charlotte and stabbed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska to death.

— Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 16 Sep. 2026
As an argument started, police said, the other man took out a sharp object and stabbed the 51-year-old in the neck.

— Elyssa Kaufman, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of stab

Adjective

There’s always another internet grift for someone looking to save himself fast, and without any gimmicky visual intrusions, the film feels authentically tuned into the aspirational mentality and oppressive reality of contemporary social media.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 15 Sep. 2026
Amid an oppressive stretch of extreme heat and Florida-esque humidity that has been punishing much of California, consider, for a moment, the Ice Age.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 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 21 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of sledgehammer

noun

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

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Cite this Entry

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