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
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Dissimilar Words
as in to cane
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sledgehammer
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
Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 27 June 2025
That labor pool is floundering like never before and the level of investment required to tap it to bolster American manufacturing is a fraction of the cost of Trump’s sledgehammer tariffs.
—Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Noun
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
Adjective
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
Verb
Instead, this otherwise generic ballad that preaches the merits of rejoicing in partnership, love guiding the way and sacred gardens with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, showcases a trio steeped in restraint.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 27 June 2025
That labor pool is floundering like never before and the level of investment required to tap it to bolster American manufacturing is a fraction of the cost of Trump’s sledgehammer tariffs.
—Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammer
Noun
-
Whirring drills, cranking wrenches and the pounding of rubber mallets give everything a productive, almost musical soundtrack.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 July 2025
-
This also prevents your meat mallet from getting dirty as well.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
While Medwin’s voiceover thankfully ceases after that first scene, a heavy-handed score serves much the same purpose, prodding us toward big and obvious emotions rather than contrasting or highlighting them.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
21 July 2025
-
The government’s heavy-handed reaction to the demonstrations have left at least 90 people dead over the last two years.—
Ken Opalo,
semafor.com,
21 July 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
-
Prater has pieces like John Wayne Gacy’s clown costume, Jeffrey Dahmer’s bloody fridge, Charles Manson’s guitar, and even more notably, the Trinity Killer’s hammer and the Bay Harbor Butcher’s blood slides.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
25 July 2025
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Early Friday morning, Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children deputies and SWAT personnel carried out a search warrant at his home and found a laptop in the trunk of Kull’s car that had been hit multiple times with a hammer, the affidavit said.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
22 July 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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The students -- roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin -- were stabbed to death at the girls' off-campus house on Nov. 13, 2022.—
Emily Shapiro,
ABC News,
24 July 2025
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Kernodle died from lacerations to her heart and lungs, and she had been stabbed more than 50 times.—
Nicole Blanchard,
Idaho Statesman,
24 July 2025
Noun
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Marshal Goodnight faces charges including impersonating a peace officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of a stun gun, possessing a baton and possessing a tear gas weapon, police said.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
23 July 2025
-
Jasmine reportedly entered the car wearing black gloves and carrying another metal baton.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
People.com,
23 July 2025
Adjective
-
In many areas along and east of the Mississippi River, heat index values could soar to between 110 and 115 degrees — the kind of oppressive heat that can quickly turn dangerous without proper precautions.—
Brandi D. Addison,
Austin American Statesman,
23 July 2025
-
Sweltering under a heat dome that brought oppressive triple-digit temperatures and humidity to large swaths of the Midwest and East Coast, average daily highs in Chicago topped 84.1 degrees in June, 3.7 degrees above normal.—
Robert Channick,
Chicago Tribune,
22 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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