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
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Recent Examples of sledgehammer
Jason Quick, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
It was later revealed that the culprits allegedly used a homemade bomb and a sledgehammer to break into the museum.
—Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 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
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 30 Jan. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Noun
The man who lifted the Denver Nuggets to a 125-113 win over Minnesota by scoring 20 points, all while absorbing the sledgehammer forays of Julius Randle, does not own a car.
—Jason Quick, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
It was later revealed that the culprits allegedly used a homemade bomb and a sledgehammer to break into the museum.
—Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 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 folks in attendance Monday at the century-old building on St. Paul’s Payne Avenue included Mayor Melvin Carter and Gov. Tim Walz, who took turns sledgehammering holes in the drywall to kick off a $10 million, top-to-bottom reinvention.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 30 Jan. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammer
Noun
-
Does someone’s head get crushed with a mallet?—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
-
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
-
Everyone is kind and at the ready for any guest, although not in a heavy-handed way.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
-
Much of the programming leans into dialogue and reflection without feeling heavy-handed.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
14 May 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
-
Alas, Shao Khan smashes Cole’s head with a hammer, Gallagher style, and shoves his body into a vat of acid.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
12 May 2026
-
The victim said that a man, identified in documents as 43-year-old Lance Tolbert, had emerged from one of the stalls and began attacking him with a hammer.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
10 May 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
Three people were stabbed on a Rhode Island beach Tuesday as hundreds of teenagers packed the area, forcing beachgoers to flee.—
Louis Casiano , Brooke Taylor,
FOXNews.com,
20 May 2026
-
The family's dog then came to protect the family, and Vigneau allegedly stabbed the dog twice in the mouth area, prosecutors say.—
Joseph Buczek,
CBS News,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
In 2010, the reform baton passed to California and then to Massachusetts.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
18 May 2026
-
The baton has been passed onto other filmmakers.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
Adjective
-
Beyond its pleasures as a noir, the chronicle of Kolechko’s fight against nascent Soviet power easily reminds one of present-day Ukraine’s struggle to preserve its dignity in the face of oppressive forces.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
-
But the sweltering, sticky, oppressive facepalm of summer doesn’t make the other seasons more palatable.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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