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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to cane
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sledgehammer
Philip Elliott, Time, 5 June 2025
Trump is taking a sledgehammer to the sources of American prosperity: global competition, immigrant talent, scientific research and the universities.
—David Brooks, Mercury News, 31 May 2025
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
Javier C. Hernández, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2020
The suit stemmed from a May 10, 2019, incident in which police sledgehammered the front gate of his Outer Richmond home, held him in handcuffs for hours and seized his phone, computers and other equipment.
—Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, 31 Mar. 2020
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Noun
Trump wanted to scale back the size of government and gave Musk a sledgehammer and full access to just about every corner of it.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 5 June 2025
Trump is taking a sledgehammer to the sources of American prosperity: global competition, immigrant talent, scientific research and the universities.
—David Brooks, Mercury News, 31 May 2025
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
While Beijing’s sledgehammer approach — seen by many as an extreme experiment unprecedented in size and scope — worked to quickly lower the number of infections, the price in human trauma and economic loss was severe.
—Javier C. Hernández, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2020
The suit stemmed from a May 10, 2019, incident in which police sledgehammered the front gate of his Outer Richmond home, held him in handcuffs for hours and seized his phone, computers and other equipment.
—Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, 31 Mar. 2020
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammer
Noun
-
From butcher knives to mallets to plates, Eve and her assailant use just about everything but the kitchen sink against one another, including the kitchen cooler.—
Michileen Martin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 May 2025
-
The Penzance Musical, an exquisitely funny, meticulously concocted theatrical pavlova—the 1879 operetta The Pirates of Penzance by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan—has been whacked with a mallet.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Kevin Carter/Getty Images After years of inflation, high costs, and heavy-handed regulation, Main Street is ready for a comeback.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
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The team, one of Southern California’s most revered (and lucrative) institutions, caved last week amid a growing public outcry and committed $1 million to help families affected by the Trump administration’s heavy-handed immigration policies.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
25 June 2025
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
-
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
-
Police allegedly found the body of Méndez, 43, who was from Colombia, with injuries indicating she had been killed with a hammer, while her American husband, Jarrod Gelling, 46, had knife wounds consistent with suicide, according to reports.—
Latoya Gayle,
People.com,
20 June 2025
-
Making the playoffs is going to be a steep uphill climb, and every multi-run collapse like Wednesday night’s hammers morale.—
Barry M. Bloom,
Sportico.com,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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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
-
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
Verb
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Early morning stabbing in Downtown Pittsburgh sends one person to hospital Food & Drink Product Recall Walmart Kroger Mary Cunningham Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch.—
Anne Marie D. Lee,
CBS News,
18 June 2025
-
The victim appeared to have been stabbed in his cheek.—
Ethan Wolin,
Sacbee.com,
17 June 2025
Noun
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Rena Frye, their mother, rushed to the defense of her sons; the police pinned her to a patrol vehicle, and the officers took a baton to Marquette.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
14 June 2025
-
Some officers on the ground in recent days have worn basic uniforms, which include a handgun and a baton.—
Bora Erden,
New York Times,
13 June 2025
Adjective
-
The decision to leave Iran was driven by the oppressive changes following the Iranian Revolution in 1979 concerning the treatment of women.—
Ashley J. DiMella,
FOXNews.com,
16 June 2025
-
Companies that left were celebrated, those companies that did not join in divesting their interests in this oppressive regime were ostracised, and the South African government was dealt a measurable blow.—
Frank Altman,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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