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bludgeon

[bluhj-uhn] / ˈblʌdʒ ən /
NOUN
weapon
Synonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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It might not sound like much, but another 6 inches of sea level rise could further bludgeon the already battered California coast, especially if combined with the effects from a storm.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

The Federal Reserve is trying to bludgeon inflation and bring down annual price increases to 2% or less.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

“It’s because governments usually resort to blunt instruments, opting for the bludgeon of sweeping tariffs and subsidies over the scalpel of industrial parks and skills development programs.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

They were in the game when the hosts stuttered to 137-5 after 17 overs, only for Tahlia McGrath and Grace Harris to bludgeon their way to 185-5.

From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2025

So I fall back on the support networks of my real-life social class, call the dermatologist I know in Key West, and bludgeon him into prescribing something sight unseen.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

And while most of it is as predictably familiar as expected, it does something unusual for a movie like this: It entertains you, rather than bludgeons you into submission.

From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2022

Hamilton: The widows and orphans and other alleged victims of Girardi mostly remain out of the picture, and if they’re discussed, it’s in a vague or remote way, or as rhetorical bludgeons.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2021

What if a batted ball bludgeons a squirrel in fair territory and sends both ball and squirrel bounding into foul ground?

From Slate ● Jan. 8, 2016

Writing in The Guardian, critic Xan Brooks says of it that it "bludgeons the body and tenderises the soul - it is perplexing, preposterous and utterly fascinating."

From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2014

Lyra obeyed, half happy, half apprehensive, for Ma Costa had hands like bludgeons, and now she was sure: it was their boat she had captured with Roger and the other collegers.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

By now, they’ve been bludgeoned nonstop with A.I. promotions across social media, TV, and their own academic departments.

From Slate ● May 20, 2026

Iran’s fledgling nuclear-weapons program, already bludgeoned by U.S. and Israeli strikes last year, is now even further from producing a viable bomb.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026

In the preceding ODI series against the same opposition, the explosive Brook bludgeoned 136 off just 66 balls.

From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026

Jamie Overton top scored for England as he bludgeoned 42 off 28 balls during a counter-attacking knock.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2025

If the cottonmouths hadn’t been enraged before, they were now, determined to destroy the possessed branch that had just bludgeoned three of their friends.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

The album is loaded with Anthrax trademarks — serrated, crunchy riffs, soaring lead vocals, bludgeoning beats, and scorching guitar — but there are also galactic noise effects, angular song structures and atypical chord configurations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Everyone indulged in prodigious scenery-chewing, eschewing any subtlety that Puccini built into this tear-jerking piece in favor of all-around bludgeoning.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Miller was impressive in bludgeoning his way to three figures but by the time he got going, the game was lost.

From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2025

By the standards of most no-holds-barred authorized portraits, “What a Mess!” was the truth equivalent of a below-the-belt bludgeoning, with nearly all the blows targeting Williams’ ex-husband and former manager Kevin Hunter.

From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2024

Bulgu dashes toward me on those deceptively quick legs and throws one of his bludgeoning arms out.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer


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