: a short heavy club
The eighteenth-century audience went to the theatre armed with whistles, rattles, … and sometimes even wooden cudgels.—
Ronald Hayman
Ronald Hayman
cudgeled or cudgelled; cudgeling or cudgelling
ˈkəj-liŋ 
ˈkə-jə-
: to beat with or as if with a cudgel
Synonyms
Examples of cudgel in a Sentence
Noun
a farmer armed with a cudgel drove us off his land
Recent Examples on the Web
Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 26 Nov. 2024
Waugh’s complaint has been used as a cudgel to attack Uribe’s character during the stretch run of her re-election campaign — and the attacks have continued even after the ethics commission’s decision.
—Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel, 4 Nov. 2024
Timothy Ryback, TIME, 26 Apr. 2024
Before long, fairs had such attractions as cudgelling bouts, bearbaiting, and something called gouging.
—Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023
See all Example Sentences for cudgel 
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Noun
Access to those dollars has become more of a political cudgel recently, as lawmakers in Washington have ratcheted up their scrutiny of universities.
—Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 26 Nov. 2024
Waugh’s complaint has been used as a cudgel to attack Uribe’s character during the stretch run of her re-election campaign — and the attacks have continued even after the ethics commission’s decision.
—Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
Hitler exploited his 37% to gridlock legislative processes, to cudgel or crush the political opposition, and ultimately to undermine the country’s democratic structures.
—Timothy Ryback, TIME, 26 Apr. 2024
Before long, fairs had such attractions as cudgelling bouts, bearbaiting, and something called gouging.
—Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023
See all Example Sentences for cudgel
Dictionary Entries Near cudgel
Cite this Entry
“Cudgel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cudgel. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cudgel
1 of 2 noun
cud·gel
ˈkəj-əl
: a short heavy club
cudgel
2 of 2 verb
cudgeled or cudgelled; cudgeling or cudgelling
-(ə-)liŋ
: to beat with or as if with a cudgel
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