bludgeon

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

Rather than brainwashing us, the objective of the totalitarian is to bludgeon us into apathy, resignation and passivity.

From Salon ● May 24, 2025

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

—William Cowper Innumeracy, Freud, and Pseudoscience Innumeracy and pseudoscience are often associated, in part because of the ease with which mathematical certainty can be invoked to bludgeon the innumerate into a dumb acquiescence.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

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

A brief rally ensues; Williams bludgeons her way to the net before thrashing away a short ball.

From The Guardian ● May 30, 2015

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

The sound stage felt bludgeoned into submission throughout, as the intense distortion of bass, percussion and guitars made the instrument separation within the mix almost inaudible.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

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

The stench of something dank, like mildew, bludgeoned my nostrils the moment Karim opened the door that led down the creaky steps to the basement.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

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

Later, the frontman sings about “waiting for someone to repair you” as the song explodes with the band’s signature guitar theatrics and bludgeoning drums.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2025

The big-hitting all-rounder marked his 50th T20 international appearance in style as he took 2-16 with the ball before bludgeoning six fours and five sixes in making just his second T20I half-century.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2024

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