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
Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 3 Feb. 2025
My latest: Trump takes a sledgehammer to the government.
—Nicole Russell, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 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
James Barron, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2020
Should have done steel ball on window, *then* sledgehammer the door.
—Adam Lashinsky, Fortune, 25 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Noun
Imagine if Nix had Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers, a 6-4 sledgehammer who caught 112 balls for 1,194 yards and, more impressively, somehow made the Raiders occasionally watchable.
—Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 3 Feb. 2025
My latest: Trump takes a sledgehammer to the government.
—Nicole Russell, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 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
Perhaps the most brazen took place in 1958, when two men sledgehammered the Fifth Avenue display windows in the middle of the night.
—James Barron, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2020
Should have done steel ball on window, *then* sledgehammer the door.
—Adam Lashinsky, Fortune, 25 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammer
Noun
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In a separate photo, the crowbar and a mallet allegedly used to pry open the safe are also visible.—
Chelsea Bailey and Josh Campbell,
CNN,
20 Feb. 2025
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Their specialties include 45-piece discovery boxes, hot chocolate mix, and the unique Chocolate Box - a massive block of chocolate with wooden mallets.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes,
31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Mishra then abruptly juxtaposes a scene from Gaza, flush with heavy-handed language that bludgeons home his comparison.—
Franklin Foer,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2025
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While Bobby is pretty heavy-handed in its message and delivery, any child of the ’90s would consider its standout scene to be the one between Moore’s Virginia and Sharon Stone’s beautician, Miriam.—
Eddie Mouradian,
Vulture,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Furnishings vary from room to room, featuring different styles of settees, including some made from caning and wicker materials.—
Lori Weisberg,
The Mercury News,
7 Feb. 2025
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The abolitionist Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner was caned nearly to death on the floor of the Senate in 1856.—
Kori Schake,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Apr. 2019
Noun
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The Trump administration, along with Elon Musk and his initiative known as the Department of Government Efficiency, have taken a hammer to that pillar of stability.—
Campbell Robertson,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2025
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But the league also unveiled a major rule change to the use of hammers prior to play on Monday.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
19 Feb. 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
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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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An off-duty Cal Fire captain was found fatally stabbed inside her Ramona home Monday evening, and sheriff’s detectives are investigating the homicide as a possible domestic violence case, officials said.—
Karen Kucher,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Feb. 2025
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Jevon Tyrese Fletcher, 26, is accused of stabbing the victims multiple times inside an apartment in the 400 block of Meloy Road Saturday night, NBC Connecticut reported.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Eventually, Shaquille O’Neal and Bryant took the baton with the Lakers and passed it off to LeBron James.—
Evan Webeck,
The Mercury News,
14 Feb. 2025
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Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have willingly taken the baton from Brady and the Patriots as the NFL's latest dynasty.—
Jim Reineking,
USA TODAY,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Currently, asylum seekers who committed crimes seen as political in nature—i.e. toward an oppressive regime—could be granted asylum, as could those guilty of misdemeanors.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
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But the show pulls back just enough on the oppressive horror vibes of Season Two without losing a perpetual sense of unease from those scenes.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
14 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.
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