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

Video taken at the scene appeared to show bystanders racing over to the crash to help, including two people who used a sledgehammer and a shovel to break into the cockpit. — Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 18 June 2026 Franco, a 23-year-old from Laredo, frantically swung the sledgehammer through heavy smoke. — ABC News, 18 June 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

After butterflying the breast, place a piece of plastic wrap or parchment on top and use a meat mallet or small, heavy skillet to pound it to an even thickness.

— Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart, 21 June 2026
Diana held a croquet mallet during a game at Itchenor, West Sussex, as seen in this 1970 portrait.

— Joyann Jeffrey, PEOPLE, 21 June 2026

Definition of mallet

Adjective

There is a wonderful bit where the author explains about Ghanaian textiles, a perfect example of how fiction can teach without feeling heavy-handed.

— Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Yes, Israel has been much too heavy-handed in its response to Hamas in Gaza.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 28 June 2026

Definition of heavy-handed

Verb

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
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

Definition of cane

Noun

Subsequent video reported by ABC 7 showed law enforcement gathered around weapons the suspect appeared to have in their possession, which the outlet identifies as including firearms, a hammer and a knife.

— Alison Durkee, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Later that year, an intruder broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home and attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer, fracturing his skull.

— Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 18 July 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

An 18-year-old suspect has been arrested after five people were stabbed early Saturday morning in Old Sacramento, police said.

— Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 26 July 2026
About ten minutes later, Morales Moshe stabbed Yezhak Grunhaus in the chest with a screwdriver outside The Jewish Center, a prominent Upper West Side synagogue, on Amsterdam Ave.

— Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 25 July 2026

Definition of stab

Noun

Earlier this week, as the mostly Gen-Z protesters tried the bring their demands to the parliament building at the heart of the world’s biggest democracy, they were met with tear gas and police violence, struck with sticks and batons.

— Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
Police used tear gas and batons after thousands of demonstrators on Monday tried to push through security barricades during their march to Parliament as lawmakers returned for the monsoon session.

— ABC News, ABC News, 22 July 2026

Definition of baton

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“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of sledgehammer

noun

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

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