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
Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 1 May 2026
The response by Israel to the incident of the idiot IDF soldier in Lebanon who whacked the statue of Jesus Christ with a sledgehammer reflects well upon Israel, which immediately apologized, provided a new statue and jailed the soldier for 30 days.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 1 May 2026
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
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 30 Jan. 2024
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
Noun
Last month, two Israeli soldiers were removed from combat duty after a photo circulated online showing one of the soldiers taking what appeared to be an axe or sledgehammer to the face of a statue of Jesus Christ in the area of the Christian village of Debel, in southern Lebanon.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 1 May 2026
The response by Israel to the incident of the idiot IDF soldier in Lebanon who whacked the statue of Jesus Christ with a sledgehammer reflects well upon Israel, which immediately apologized, provided a new statue and jailed the soldier for 30 days.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 1 May 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
The folks in attendance Monday at the century-old building on St. Paul’s Payne Avenue included Mayor Melvin Carter and Gov. Tim Walz, who took turns sledgehammering holes in the drywall to kick off a $10 million, top-to-bottom reinvention.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 30 Jan. 2024
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
-
Slice each fillet into 3 thinner cutlets, then pound a bit thinner with kitchen mallet.—
Judy Bart Kancigor,
Oc Register,
28 May 2026
-
Zendaya’s character has had a rough season, recently narrowly avoiding having her head clubbed off with a polo mallet.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
25 May 2026
Adjective
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Instead, voters have increasingly turned to candidates promising heavy-handed security crackdowns.—
Megan Janetsky,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
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Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby’s vice chairman and global head of science and natural history, told ARTnews that lower-quality examples often suffer from distortions, poor fossilization, or heavy-handed restoration.—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
28 May 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
-
Belal Salem, a member of our team, struck the rock with his hammer.—
Sanaa El-Sayed,
The Conversation,
4 June 2026
-
Roske showed up to Kavanaugh’s home with a firearm, several magazines of ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdrivers, a nail punch and a crowbar.—
Alexandra Bacallao,
NBC news,
3 June 2026
Adjective
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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
-
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
Verb
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Swan screamed and tried to get up from her seat, but Matthews allegedly held onto her right arm and stabbed her approximately 18 to 20 times, the affidavit says.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2026
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Authorities said Anthony admitted stabbing Metcalf and asked whether the teen would be OK.—
Anthony Thompson,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
Noun
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According to the complaint, the same ICE officer had hit Scelfo twice in the leg with a baton during a physical altercation.—
Chris Boyette,
CNN Money,
1 June 2026
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To help pass the baton to new leaders more smoothly, businesses could think about giving younger leaders strategic responsibility earlier in their careers, supporting senior leaders to act in a coaching or sponsor capacity, or pushing more decisions to frontline teams and their managers.—
David Morel,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Adjective
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The dialogue is well-crafted, the Southern atmosphere (Atlanta doubling Savannah, with Savannah here and there standing for itself) suitably oppressive.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
-
Dew points above 65 degrees indicate a high level of moisture in the air, making the heat oppressive.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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