as in cane
a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment
guards armed with bludgeons roamed the compound
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to slap
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
remodelers bludgeoned the wall with a sledgehammer to join the two rooms
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to lick
to strike repeatedly
a boxer bludgeoning his opponent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bludgeon
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2024
Pesticides can be valuable tools when used as scalpels, but when they are used as bludgeons, the evolution of resistance often undoes their efficacy.
—Frances Beinecke, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2012
Nick Romano, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2025
Redick seemed to have Doncic with the ball in his hands more than previous games, and Doncic used these touches to bludgeon this Nuggets defense repeatedly with precise shooting and strong finishing.
—Mikai Bruce, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bludgeon
Noun
Conservatives have had it in for Chevron deference for a long time; given their current majority on the court, the doctrine’s death has been a foregone conclusion, awaiting only the appearance of a suitable case to use as a bludgeon.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2024
Pesticides can be valuable tools when used as scalpels, but when they are used as bludgeons, the evolution of resistance often undoes their efficacy.
—Frances Beinecke, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2012
Verb
Fans of The Walking Dead will never forget how the actor, playing Negan, bludgeoned Yeun's Glenn to death with a barbed baseball bat.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2025
Redick seemed to have Doncic with the ball in his hands more than previous games, and Doncic used these touches to bludgeon this Nuggets defense repeatedly with precise shooting and strong finishing.
—Mikai Bruce, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bludgeon
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bludgeon
Noun
-
Cut Stems Back Using your bypass pruners, cut live canes back to 12 inches tall.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Green, who is Black, regularly uses a cane to walk around the Capitol and has done so for years.—
Sarah Fortinsky,
The Hill,
12 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The two rivals slapped each other, and Charlotte missed a spear in the corner.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
20 Apr. 2025
-
The Republican president slapped 10% tariffs on most goods entering the country but delayed the implementation of higher levies, pending negotiations.—
Trevor Hunnicutt,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Flames were licking the upper branches of tall trees.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
17 Apr. 2025
-
While investors are licking their wounds from a plunging stock market, and businesses brace for economic fallout, major investment banks are reaping extraordinary profits, according to Wall Street Journal.—
Jack Kelly,
Forbes.com,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The baton came back to him once Paramount Plus gave a green light to The Challenge: All Stars, and OGs like himself were given a second shot at glory.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
16 Apr. 2025
-
The baton passes, rather frenetically, to other standout friends, too.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
New York’s forward did so by staying attached through the bazillion screens Detroit set and recovering when he was hit.—
James L. Edwards III,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2025
-
The match began with Uso and Gunther going back and forth with each Superstar hitting their signature moves.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
All that — that’s what came turning around the corner late Sunday afternoon, striding through a tunnel of fans off Augusta’s 18th green, walking without a shadow despite a shallow sun; arms extended, eyes welling, chest pounding.—
Brendan Quinn,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Deadly flooding in the South and Midwest The mother of a 9-year-old boy is speaking out after he was swept away and killed by floodwaters in Kentucky during the four days of historic storms that pounded the region.—
Chris Looft,
ABC News,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
And, in a development that has been decades in the making, civil-rights laws have been reduced to cudgels for coercing universities into subservience.—
Jeannie Suk Gersen,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2025
-
Art of the trade deal Trump enacted tariffs on steel and aluminum for most countries during his first administration and used them as a cudgel against Mexico and Canada to negotiate an update to the North American Free Trade Agreement that was more favorable to the United States.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Then with two outs, Amed Rosario smacked an RBI single.—
Steve Gorten,
Miami Herald,
13 Apr. 2025
-
Once the screen comes, Dort smacked his inside leg into Hayes’ outside one.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bludgeon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bludgeon. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share