How to Use bludgeon in a Sentence

bludgeon

1 of 2 noun
  • In a nutshell, anything that can be used as a bludgeon is a no-no.
    — Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY, 12 May 2017
  • The ankylosaurs were armored dinosaurs with large, bludgeon-like tails.
    — Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 7 Dec. 2022
  • Use the powerful access rights of these statutes wisely, and not as a bludgeon.
    — Kelly G. Richardson, sandiegouniontribune.com, 29 Apr. 2017
  • Iran practices honest bludgeon work.
    — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 4 Apr. 2026
  • Their large could also double as a bludgeon in the unlikely event of a mugging.
    — Amy Drew Thompson, orlandosentinel.com, 13 Dec. 2020
  • The larger cost is the precedent of using tariffs as a bludgeon on non-trade issues.
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 9 June 2019
  • Hobbes tells Marshall that people often use the subject as a bludgeon.
    — Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2020
  • Brown’s heavy hands bludgeon blockers at the point of contact, enabling him to reset the line of scrimmage and stack blocks against the run.
    — John Owning, Dallas News, 30 Mar. 2020
  • The biggest bludgeon the skeptics have is that there is uncertainty in the science.
    — Fred Guterl, Discover Magazine, 20 Oct. 2010
  • An offense built to bludgeon did so, after almost a week of inability.
    — Chandler Rome, Houston Chronicle, 19 Apr. 2018
  • Check out this brief moment from the trailer, where the Hound bludgeons a White Walker.
    — Megan Friedman, Harper's BAZAAR, 14 Aug. 2017
  • Tanaka then watched Toronto bludgeon the Yankees’ bullpen to complete a three-game sweep.
    — Billy Witz, New York Times, 1 June 2016
  • Stop using fear as a bludgeon, and consider the Reaves family.
    — Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review, 20 Jan. 2020
  • One week later, that promise is being used as a bludgeon against smaller ride-hailing rival Lyft.
    — Aarian Marshall, Wired, 12 Feb. 2020
  • Bludgeon opponents into submission late in games, and ride a killer bullpen to ensure opponents can’t do the same.
    — SI.com, 8 May 2017
  • In a fit of rage, Polo picks up the academic statue Marina had just won and bludgeons her.
    — Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 13 Mar. 2020
  • The Rams’ Aaron Donald, who leads the league in sacks, bludgeons quarterbacks from the inside.
    — Andrew Beaton, WSJ, 13 Dec. 2018
  • An untreatable infection brings on the transformation quicker, and the only way to stop that is with a bludgeon to the brain.
    — Kyle Hill, Discover Magazine, 25 Mar. 2013
  • The president’s wielding of the anthem as a bludgeon is itself a historical echo.
    — Washington Post, 3 Sep. 2020
  • In a lower corner was a dancing figure in ceremonial headdress, wielding an ax in his right hand and a bludgeon in his left.
    — Franz Lidz Meghan Dhaliwal, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2022
  • In the Middle East, the idea of hospitality is both sacrament and bludgeon.
    — New York Times, 11 Nov. 2021
  • For them, the vote for the largest transportation tax in history will surely be used as a bludgeon by their political opponents.
    — Jon Coupal, Orange County Register, 8 Apr. 2017
  • But in an era of polarization and rising debt loads, the limit has been transformed into a political bludgeon.
    — Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 19 Jan. 2023
  • Using the dollar as a bludgeon has already led to capricious and arbitrary decision-making.
    — The Economist, 19 May 2018
  • Today, left-wing activists use these terms as bludgeons to intimidate those who disagree with them from entering the dialogue at all.
    — Fox News, 10 Apr. 2018
  • The effect is devastating, a rapier to the president’s bludgeon.
    — The Economist, 22 Mar. 2018
  • Yet a small but important part of the progressive coalition—criminal-defense lawyers—can’t afford to treat gun laws as one more culture-war bludgeon.
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 23 July 2021
  • The bill’s main tool, its proverbial bludgeon, is a new set of tax credits that could remake the way that America generates electricity.
    — Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, 28 July 2022
  • In reaching for the age-old tariffs bludgeon, America may have hastened the collapse of the global free trading consensus.
    — Stephen Collinson, CNN, 15 Jan. 2020
  • New York Times columnist Paul Krugman uses ‘deaths of despair’ as a partisan bludgeon.
    — Mona Charen, National Review, 5 Dec. 2019

bludgeon

2 of 2 verb
  • Then his head was bludgeoned enough to kill him.
    — Keith Sharon, Nashville Tennessean, 7 Oct. 2025
  • His body was found bludgeoned at a golf course with leaves and dirt stuffed down his throat.
    — Fox News, 23 Aug. 2019
  • Joanne was found beside him with her head bludgeoned and throat slashed.
    — Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 10 May 2026
  • Lo then bludgeons Richard in the head with a metal pipe and kills him.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 11 Oct. 2025
  • She was then raped, bludgeoned and drowned in a canal, where her body would be found later that day.
    — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 14 Nov. 2025
  • She was found hog-tied in her home, having been bludgeoned with a fire poker.
    — Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026
  • In the long sweep of crimes, dogs were bludgeoned to death in the same manner as people _ with a log.
    — Tribune News Service, oregonlive.com, 22 June 2019
  • The 26-year-old actress and four friends were bludgeoned, shot and stabbed scores of times.
    — Washington Post, 7 Aug. 2019
  • Police found Lizzie's father stretched out on the couch in the sitting room bludgeoned to death.
    — Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2020
  • There’s the hope that scoring chances evolve into goals or that the schedule doesn’t bludgeon the Stars.
    — Matthew Defranks, Dallas News, 28 Mar. 2021
  • He was found guilty of breaking into her home, raping her and bludgeoning her to death with a hammer.
    — Marc Freeman, sun-sentinel.com, 27 June 2019
  • As the man turns to leave, all of the gates shut, and a bull comes roaring toward the center, bludgeoning the man to death.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 15 Jan. 2026
  • Officials have discovered groups of corpses that have been bludgeoned with hammers or had their throats slit.
    — Kimon De Greef, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2023
  • Rushing slit Palmer's throat with a razor and bludgeoned him with a sock stuffed with a softcover book.
    — Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2023
  • Don’t bow to that voice in your head that bludgeons you with oppressive words such as must and have to that demotivate you.
    — Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 7 May 2023
  • Over two days, she was taken to Arkansas, gang-raped, bludgeoned with a shovel and buried alive.
    — Washington Post, 21 June 2019
  • Others, like Eberhardt, were bludgeoned.
    — Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 10 Jan. 2026
  • Yet Harris chose this issue as a cudgel with which to bludgeon Joe Biden.
    — George Will, National Review, 7 July 2019
  • But at least one other person had different plans, and Winter was bludgeoned to death.
    — Saja Hindi, The Denver Post, 12 Sep. 2019
  • The 26-year-old actress, Sebring and three others were bludgeoned, shot and stabbed scores of times.
    — al, 9 Aug. 2019
  • Evelyn tells Alex that Laura is to blame, having used a rock to bludgeon her parents to death.
    — Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2025
  • On offense and defense, the Ravens had bludgeoned their way into the postseason.
    — Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, 27 Sep. 2019
  • Almost a month later, she was found bludgeoned to death in a creek in eastern Williamson County.
    — Claire Osborn, Austin American Statesman, 21 Mar. 2026
  • Alubidy grabbed a trailer tow hitch and bludgeoned the 5-foot-tall, 130-pound victim.
    — City News Service, Oc Register, 15 Oct. 2025
  • On the side of the road, Bundy tried to bludgeon her into submission, DaRonch said.
    — Adam Carlson, Peoplemag, 18 Dec. 2022
  • One of the elderly marks in Kastle’s film is bludgeoned to death by Martha while Ray looks on.
    — Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 22 June 2023
  • Over two days, Lisa was taken to Arkansas, gang-raped, bludgeoned with a shovel and buried alive.
    — Fox News, 21 June 2019
  • But there's a difference between helping a parent stay on track with a new regime and bludgeoning them with reminders.
    — Ashley Milne-Tyte, NPR, 21 Aug. 2025
  • The grandson of a woman bludgeoned to death in Enfield last month has been arrested and charged with her murder.
    — Zach Murdock, courant.com, 4 Sep. 2019
  • In 2011, his friend and colleague David Kato was bludgeoned to death.
    — Reuters, NBC News, 13 Apr. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bludgeon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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