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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as in to cane
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sledgehammer
Daniel Moore, Axios, 3 Feb. 2025
Position the tree stakes just beyond the tree’s root area and drive the stakes into the soil at a 45-degree angle with a sledgehammer.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Jan. 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
James Barron, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2020
Should have done steel ball on window, *then* sledgehammer the door.
—Adam Lashinsky, Fortune, 25 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Noun
Congressional Republicans promised the party would approach the IRA with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.
—Daniel Moore, Axios, 3 Feb. 2025
Position the tree stakes just beyond the tree’s root area and drive the stakes into the soil at a 45-degree angle with a sledgehammer.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Jan. 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
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
Should have done steel ball on window, *then* sledgehammer the door.
—Adam Lashinsky, Fortune, 25 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for sledgehammer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sledgehammer
Noun
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The film depicts West’s son Saint West in a wrestling ring, taking on hoards of wrestlers by himself, armed with a toy mallet while the album plays in the background.—
Ethan Millman,
The Hollywood Reporter,
19 Mar. 2025
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Smashing a watermelon with a giant mallet to the messy delight of audiences, Leo Gallagher became one of the biggest comedy acts of the 1980s and shot to superstardom.—
Addie Morfoot,
Variety,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Those moments of naturalism work better than many of the shots taking place outside of the car, which often use glaringly heavy-handed lighting to insinuate who we’re supposed to see as good and evil.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
21 Mar. 2025
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But four years of rapid inflation, high interest rates, and heavy-handed federal regulatory actions has changed that profit picture.—
David Blackmon,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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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
-
Furnishings vary from room to room, featuring different styles of settees, including some made from caning and wicker materials.—
Lori Weisberg,
The Mercury News,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Call for volunteers to clean park in fire zone faces pushback in Altadena Nonato laid his chisel against the mortar and gingerly began to tap the top of the tool with a hammer.—
Laura J. Nelson,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2025
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The only problem was that Purdey had never made a hammer ejector gun in 28 gauge, or any hammer gun in .410 bore in their more than 200-year history.—
Chris Dorsey,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 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
-
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 rookie hero, opening beer bottles with his eye socket, pulling out his own tooth with pliers, and being stabbed by a fan in Mexico wielding a pen, made news everywhere.—
Chuck Murr,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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Police said the victim got into an argument with four teen boys and was then stabbed.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The assailants arrived w/ batons, knives, and at least 1 assault rifle; many masked.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
25 Mar. 2025
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Some of the attackers were masked, while others allegedly carried batons, knives, and at least one assault rifle.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Cryptocurrency mixers can be essential tools for individuals who value privacy, including those living under oppressive regimes, journalists, whistleblowers, and businesses that require confidentiality in their transactions.—
Becca Bratcher,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
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Coventry became the minister of sports a year after the coup that removed Mugabe in the new administration of current President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s vice president who rights groups say has continued many of Mugabe’s oppressive policies.—
Gerald Imray,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sledgehammer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sledgehammer. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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