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sledgehammer 1 of 3

noun

Definition of sledgehammernext
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

verb

as in to cane

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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
  1. mallet
  2. heavy-handed
  3. cane
  4. hammer
  5. jackbooted
  6. stab
  7. baton
  8. oppressive
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
  • The reference is heavy-handed, but the idea is the right one.
    — Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
  • 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
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
  • To break down a plastic bottle, science doesn’t need a hammer, but a microscopic scalpel.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2026
  • The leaf design was surprisingly complicated and required many trips to the forge and a power hammer to get it just right.
    — Sarah Wood González, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 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
  • Dydzuhn was punched and stabbed, and suffered severe cuts and damage to one of her eyes, according to NBC Miami.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Whatley invoked the name of Iryna Zarutska, the Ukrainian refugee fatally stabbed on Charlotte’s Blue Line light rail in 2025.
    — Danielle Battaglia, Charlotte Observer, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of stab
Noun
  • Her granddaughter Susan Crater, a Georgetown Law School graduate and former lawyer, picked up the baton, brought the archives to the marketplace and started textiles and wall covering firm Sister Parish Designs in 2000.
    — Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 24 Sep. 2026
  • In July, Manila accused Chinese forces of firing water cannons at government vessels near Scarborough Shoal and striking a Philippine Navy staff member in the head with a wooden baton during an encounter at Second Thomas Shoal.
    — Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of baton
Adjective
  • The investigation into Toro follows a complaint from Bigelow that alleges the workplace culture under Toro’s leadership is characterized as oppressive, bullying and fearful, according to the complaint.
    — Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 20 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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Cite this Entry

“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

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