as in mallet
a large, heavy hammer with a long handle
broke up the concrete using a sledgehammer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in heavy-handed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to cane
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sledgehammer
Jennifer Lotito, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
The men found information on target businesses and used pry bars and sledgehammers to break into buildings and open safes that stored pull-tab proceeds, the complaint states.
—Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 5 May 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
Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, 31 Mar. 2020
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
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Noun
In a matter of weeks, the Administration effectively took a sledgehammer to the agency, crippling its life-saving work, leaving thousands of Americans unemployed, and millions around the world who depend on American generosity struggling for survival.
—Jennifer Lotito, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025
The men found information on target businesses and used pry bars and sledgehammers to break into buildings and open safes that stored pull-tab proceeds, the complaint states.
—Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 5 May 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
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
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
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammer
Noun
-
From butcher knives to mallets to plates, Eve and her assailant use just about everything but the kitchen sink against one another, including the kitchen cooler.—
Michileen Martin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 May 2025
-
The Penzance Musical, an exquisitely funny, meticulously concocted theatrical pavlova—the 1879 operetta The Pirates of Penzance by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan—has been whacked with a mallet.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
In an address to the nation Sunday night about the first year of his new term, Bukele brushed off criticism of his heavy-handed tactics.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 June 2025
-
But many Central and South American nations remain wary of the U.S. For more than a century, Washington frequently employed heavy-handed tactics with its hemispheric neighbors.—
Whitney Eulich,
Christian Science Monitor,
30 May 2025
Verb
-
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
-
Rattan appears in just the stool and card table, while complementary materials like raffia, caning, and jute help anchor the room with a neutral foundation.—
Monika Biegler Eyers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
To remove a stubborn hinge pin, place a small screwdriver, bit, nail, or similar item into the bottom of the hinge and tap the pin out with a hammer.—
Kamron Sanders,
Better Homes & Gardens,
25 May 2025
-
The murder weapons included dagger, hatchet, hammer, necktie.—
Rich Cohen,
Rolling Stone,
20 May 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has tried for months to find a Boise man — accused of stabbing his roommate to death — competent enough to stand trial for his first-degree murder charge.—
Alex Brizee,
Idaho Statesman,
6 June 2025
-
Best for Plantar Fasciitis: Asics Gel-Nimbus 27 Plantar fasciitis, which is usually characterized by a stabbing sensation in your heel or arch, is another common source of discomfort for runners.—
Sara Coughlin,
SELF,
5 June 2025
Noun
-
When funding for these circulars came to an end, Fred picked up the eclipse baton and with the help of Canadian meteorologist Jay Anderson, produced their own eclipse circulars, funded under the auspices of NASA.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
3 June 2025
-
YoungBoy takes the baton and aims at his detractors.—
Michael Saponara,
Billboard,
21 May 2025
Adjective
-
More than 60 years ago, my parents fled Cuba for the United States, seeking freedom from an oppressive regime that dictated what businesses produced and how products were priced.—
Carlos Cubelo,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 June 2025
-
The film follows a 40-year-old widowed nurse named Mahnaz, who is struggling with a rebellious son and other complications in a heavily oppressive patriarchal context.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
22 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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