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
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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
Sean Emery, Oc Register, 6 Apr. 2026 Eckert instructed the dads and sons to run a few hundred yards with kettlebells, sledgehammers, and sandbags, then to smash open the sandbags. —Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 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
Christian Clark, NOLA.com, 24 Nov. 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
Chan persuaded Tay to go with him to the Buena Park home, where Chan and another teen beat Tay with baseball bats and at one point a sledgehammer while Tay begged for help. —Sean Emery, Oc Register, 6 Apr. 2026 Eckert instructed the dads and sons to run a few hundred yards with kettlebells, sledgehammers, and sandbags, then to smash open the sandbags. —Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 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 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 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
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Does someone’s head get crushed with a mallet?— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
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Using the flat side of a meat mallet or a rolling pin, pound pork to a ¼- to ½-inch thickness.— Wini Moranville, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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But while a majority of Cubans surveyed support a heavy-handed approach towards Cuba’s government, many would like to see a softer strategy towards its people who have come to the United States.— Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2026
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However, Chu warned that storytelling can’t be heavy-handed or feel like homework for the audience.— Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 16 Apr. 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
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As part of the project, the Corps would need to blast and hammer ocean bottom to deepen the channel by 10 feet and nearly double its length.— Jenny Staletovich, Sun Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2026
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Peters, in particular, is known for such extreme tactics as hitting himself in the face with a hammer so his bones grow back sharper and taking small amounts of methamphetamine to suppress his appetite.— Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 15 Apr. 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
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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
Verb
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Smith lived in Brownsville, less than a mile from where he was stabbed, according to cops.— Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2026
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Authorities are searching for a suspect after a woman was stabbed to death and another was injured inside of a single-family home on Monday morning.— Austin Turner, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Barrett said another video released Monday showed an activist taking a baton away from an officer as protesters tried to rush the gate to the facility.— Scott Bauer, Chicago Tribune, 20 Apr. 2026
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But Adami cautioned investors against overthinking the baton-passing.— Alex Harring, CNBC, 20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The early heat wave comes less than a month after oppressive heat choked much of the western United States.— Denise Chow, NBC news, 14 Apr. 2026
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Based on Margaret Atwood’s 2019 novel, the sequel series returns to the oppressive, patriarchal society, this time through the lens of teenagers Agnes (Chase Infiniti) and Daisy (Lucy Halliday).— Rebecca Aizin, PEOPLE, 10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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