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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to bludgeon
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cudgel
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
Alec MacGillis, ProPublica, 18 Apr. 2025
But the vote every few years becomes a cudgel against members of the governing party because approval contributes to the appearance of unbridled spending.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for cudgel
Noun
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
Verb
That survey’s mental health components have also undergirded research on the threat being posed to the nation’s young people by smartphones and social media, which many conservatives have taken up as a cudgel against Big Tech.
Or take education.
—Alec MacGillis, ProPublica, 18 Apr. 2025
But the vote every few years becomes a cudgel against members of the governing party because approval contributes to the appearance of unbridled spending.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for cudgel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cudgel
Noun
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Other dolls in the Fashionistas line include a blind Barbie who carries a cane, a Barbie with Down syndrome, and a Barbie who uses a wheelchair.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
People.com,
8 July 2025
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During their investigation, officers learned the woman’s 44-year-old son, Joseph Cavallaro, attacked his mother and beat her with a cane, prosecutors said.—
Paloma Chavez,
Miami Herald,
30 June 2025
Verb
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Four provost marshals barged into the judge’s courtroom and bloodily bludgeoned him with the butt of a pistol in front of his jury and civilian spectators.—
Paul Callahan,
Baltimore Sun,
29 May 2025
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The film struggles to let scenes breathe, bludgeons us too frequently with music cues and skips out on crucial emotional beats to replace them with less effective melodrama.—
Brandon Yu,
New York Times,
20 May 2025
Noun
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Juice takes the baton and continues his journey to hopefully discovering inner-peace.—
Michael Saponara,
Billboard,
11 July 2025
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Sangay, who took up the baton as the political leader of the exiled government, said that by making the transition to democracy the Dalai Lama wanted to ensure Tibetans can run the movement and the government on their own, even after he is gone.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
3 July 2025
Verb
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Kerry Carpenter clouted a key home run for the Detroit Tigers and Cole Ragans has pitched two terrific games for the Kansas City Royals among younger players stepping up.—
Chuck Murr,
Forbes,
9 Oct. 2024
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Not since the former Yankee slugger clouted three home runs in a World Series game against the Dodgers in 1977 has Jackson done more with a pitch in the strike zone.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
22 June 2024
Verb
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The groups also assailed the total ban on using software to predict behaviors, saying financial institutions use such technology to assess the risk of fraud and other crimes.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
17 June 2025
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Published in the German-language Austrian newspaper Kurier, Eastwood is quoted assailing film remakes, franchises and a general lack of original ideas.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
2 June 2025
Verb
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Her long extensions were seemingly chopped above the shoulders and shaped in wide curls, with the exception of a tiny, tight coil positioned on her forehead.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
9 July 2025
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Once fully incorporated, whisk in beef stock, onion powder, garlic powder, dill and chopped pepperoncini.—
Mary Claire Britton,
Southern Living,
8 July 2025
Verb
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Standing all of 4-foot-5 and weighing 63 pounds, Indie-Reign routinely smacks the ball about 170 yards off the tee.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 July 2025
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In 1648, a group of English Puritans set sail from Bermuda to avoid religious persecution only to smack into Devil’s Backbone reef.—
Norma Meyer,
Oc Register,
9 July 2025
Verb
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Armed with chainsaws and bush cutters, the IPC armies sliced and whacked their way through the evildoers.—
Laura L. Davis,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
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Public libraries are asking hundreds of thousands of patrons to tell state lawmakers to back off a plan to whack state money for local libraries.—
Laura A. Bischoff,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cudgel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cudgel. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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