as in batons
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cudgels
Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
While the conservative pushback and Trump’s cudgels are encouraging some companies to abandon formal DEI policies, analysts say an emphasis on diversity continues and is quietly evolving beneath the surface.
—William Becker, The Hill, 11 Aug. 2025
Major events, like football games, are often used as cudgels to force a deal, with both the distributor and broadcaster eager to ensure the events are available to subscribers.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Noun
When words lose their original meanings and are repurposed as verbal cudgels, the public sphere becomes a jungle of denunciation, intimidation, and even violence.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for cudgels
Noun
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By Monday afternoon, the unrest had spread to the northeastern city of Mashhad, where demonstrators gathered in central squares and clashed with riot police who moved in with batons.—
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Dozens of agents swarmed the area along with a military vehicle, Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, told USA TODAY, saying agents used batons and mace on demonstrators.—
Verb
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Take your time to let the pork chops sear and brown.—
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If the stock chops around, the trade can be scaled by layering additional spreads.—
Noun
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To rejuvenate an older plant, cut 50 to 75% of the oldest, thickest canes back to the ground to allow for new shoots to develop.—
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Wait until mid-to-late November to remove dead or diseased canes and reduce the overall size of the rose plant.—
Verb
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Then little Holly Wheeler and her 10-year-old friends, including the Season 5 favorite Derek (Jake Connelly), all swarm into the basement and take over the D&D table in a passing of the torch that basically whacks the audience over our collective heads.—
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Fed up with Nicky’s dramatics, Lester uses his elevator crank and whacks the former hard in the back of his neck.—
Verb
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Ten years after his expulsion, Saleh’s third feature in the trilogy, after Boy From Heaven, socks it to Egypt’s military leaders and General Intelligence Service (GIS), and by implication al-Sisi.—
Verb
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Toe tap on the sideline for 17, then boxes out Greg Newsome for 14 more.—
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This, alas, also boxes his constituents in.—
Verb
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Lo then bludgeons Richard in the head with a metal pipe and kills him.—
Verb
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Over and over again, Cameron hammers his favorite themes.—
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That last part proves most elusive, as the film hammers home repeatedly, though not very subtly.—
Cite this Entry
“Cudgels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cudgels. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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