bludgeon

“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

I think to love history and not just cherry-pick it to use as a bludgeon, you have to love complexity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2023

After their victory, one of them triumphantly tosses his bludgeon, a masculine, violent tool, which morphs into a spaceship.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2023

I clutched the back of the chair, closed my eyes and saw luminous red as the rhythmic noise of his sobs fell over and over again, like a bludgeon.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

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

In many ways this premiere aims to cut like a freshly sharpened blade but instead bludgeons like a baseball bat.

From New York Times ● Apr. 26, 2017

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

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

Nations that once bludgeoned each other found common purpose, yielding years of economic growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 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

Their brute force bludgeoned Scotland time and again.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026

A lack of jet fuel has bludgeoned the critical tourism sector.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026

Out on the plains of West Texas everyone knew how the Panthers routinely bludgeoned opponents from El Paso and Abilene and Amarillo.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

And when they weren't doing that, Tomasso Menoncello - bound for Toulouse and more superstar days - was bludgeoning his way into space.

From BBC ● Mar. 7, 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

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

No. Neither the guys nor the grim and eventually bludgeoning show have a gift for levity.

From New York Times ● Nov. 13, 2023

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