1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

sledgehammering

verb

present participle of sledgehammer
as in stabbing

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammering
  1. stabbing
  2. slashing
  3. flailing
  4. lashing
  5. sapping
  6. thrashing
  7. whipping
  8. spearing
Verb
  • The stabbing victim had earlier told Calaveras County sheriff’s deputies that he was attacked in the 1200 block of South Main Street in Angels Camp, but deputies found no evidence of an attack there.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Azaria was sentenced to 18 months in prison for killing Abdel Fattah al-Sharif, who was one of two men accused of stabbing another Israeli soldier in Hebron.
    — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of stabbing
Verb
  • Hilton has made a slew of campaign promises to lower the cost of living, including $3 gasoline, no taxes on income below $150,000 and lowering energy bills by slashing climate-friendly regulations imposed by Democrats.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
  • The crooks beat him savagely, at one point slashing him with a machete, while demanding his iPhone password, officials said.
    — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of slashing
Verb
  • So, why now, halfway through the first take of the shoot, was Axl flailing his arm like a windmill with his jacket hurling around through space like a lasso?
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Much of the time, you’re left to put up with untrained screen actors not knowing where to stand or look, or who don’t know not to block the camera’s view with flailing hands.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of flailing
Verb
  • These are just two of the many scenes of destruction the hurricane has left in Hawaii after lashing the state’s western islands with heavy rain, widespread flooding and tropical-storm-force winds on Monday and Tuesday.
    — Liz Kreutz, NBC news, 9 Sep. 2026
  • This week’s meeting of G20 finance ministers underscored rising global trade tensions, with several countries, including the US, lashing out at China.
    — Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of lashing
Verb
  • Stubbornly high inflation has been sapping consumer confidence and pressuring the Fed, which recently raised its benchmark interest rate in an effort to cool prices.
    — Damian J. Troise, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • High gasoline prices have been fueling a broader jump in inflation, squeezing household budgets and sapping consumer confidence.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of sapping
Verb
  • Some patients are arguably mad, others thrashing against their circumstances.
    — Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Apparently, McQueen made the most of the Ferrari, thrashing it along Southern California’s Pacific Coast Highway and Mulholland Drive.
    — Howard Walker, Robb Report, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of thrashing
Verb
  • In whipping rain and wind in New Jersey, the New York Giants held on for a 12-7 win in their first game since quarterback Jaxson Dart suffered a season-ending knee injury.
    — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Goalkeeper Emi Martinez floated a ball over Ezri Konsa to Rogers, who exchanged passes with Joao Pedro before shifting sharply onto his right foot and whipping a shot just wide of David Raya’s far post.
    — Liam Twomey, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • When staking dahlias in late summer, take care to avoid spearing the tubers.
    — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Sep. 2026
  • There are frightening stories of swordfish charging boats, and even spearing their transoms and whacking propellers.
    — Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of spearing
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.

Browse Nearby Words

sledgehammered
sledgehammering
sledgehammers
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sledgehammering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammering. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of heterodox

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All