as in cane
a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment
a farmer armed with a cudgel drove us off his land
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as in to bludgeon
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cudgel
U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026
The shooting unleashed a stream of political reaction, with Republicans quick to blame Pritzker and his fellow Democrats for championing the state’s sanctuary policies, using them as a political cudgel in expressing outrage over Gorman’s killing.
—Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
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
Noun
Building and construction unions no longer can use their old rhetorical cudgel in this debate — calling prefab homes flimsy and unsafe.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026
The shooting unleashed a stream of political reaction, with Republicans quick to blame Pritzker and his fellow Democrats for championing the state’s sanctuary policies, using them as a political cudgel in expressing outrage over Gorman’s killing.
—Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cudgel
Noun
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But his parents hope that the teen, who uses a wheelchair or cane for mobility, will continue to gain independence.—
Sam Gillette,
PEOPLE,
9 June 2026
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In its most scenic moments, the train wanders along the island’s coastline and through rainforest, and sugar cane fields.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
9 June 2026
Verb
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For nearly eight years, the Ukrainian army—with the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion at the vanguard—tried to bludgeon the uprising into submission.—
Wyatt Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
9 June 2026
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Here, the laughs are bludgeoned to death, never more so than in the final stretch when multiple Ghostfaces converge.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
Noun
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Citizen Officers in riot gear responded with batons and zip ties and ordered the crowd to disperse.—
Christina Fan,
CBS News,
14 June 2026
-
During the event, Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman symbolically passed a baton to Bresnik while joined by other members of the Artemis II crew.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 June 2026
Verb
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The 'merch hauls' on social media are awful, the desperate pathetic influencers trying to clout chase using the Masters are all awful.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
13 Apr. 2026
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But they are outnumbered by propagandists, trolls, anxious commentators, war-market gamblers, and clout chasers who, apparently, became experts on the Strait of Hormuz overnight.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Lander has assailed Goldman for accepting AIPAC’s endorsement and for voting to send military aid to Israel, which Lander has vowed to oppose.—
Russell Berman,
The Atlantic,
7 June 2026
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The former increases excitability and preparedness for movement in response to the tennis equivalent of being assailed by a woolly mammoth.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Verb
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But her mother, who found it unseemly for a little girl to be swinging such a thing about, chopped it off one night while my mother was asleep.—
Esther Yi,
New Yorker,
14 June 2026
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Crumble or chop the bacon to add to the skillet with the pecans, then proceed as described above.—
Karla Walsh,
Better Homes & Gardens,
13 June 2026
Verb
-
Llamas smacked 139 hits in her career, Kyles 136.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 June 2026
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Then the others, perhaps hearing the now-familiar smack, smack, slurp of group tonsil hockey, followed suit.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Vulture,
9 June 2026
Verb
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Mitchell Robinson elbow checked him in the face, Jose Alvarado pulled off a single-legged take-down in the first half, and Towns drew a frustration flagrant foul when Wembanyama whacked him in the face.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
11 June 2026
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The Knicks are also getting whacked every time down the court.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
11 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cudgel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cudgel. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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