Meaning & use
bludgeon
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To strike someone again and again with something heavy.
Grammar: Takes an object: bludgeoned the guard.
Patterns
- bludgeon someone with something
- bludgeon someone to death
The thief bludgeoned the guard with a metal bar.
The report described how the victim was bludgeoned.
Storms bludgeoned the coast all night.
verbtransitivefigurative
To force someone to do something by pressure or insistence.
Grammar: Often with into: bludgeon someone into agreeing.
Patterns
- bludgeon someone into something
Lobbyists tried to bludgeon the council into signing.
He bludgeoned his team into accepting the plan.
They bludgeoned us with endless emails.
nouncountable
A short, thick stick used as a weapon.
Grammar: Often with a: a wooden bludgeon.
Patterns
- a bludgeon of something
The guard carried a leather-covered bludgeon.
An old bludgeon hung in the museum.
The attacker swung a heavy bludgeon.
Word forms
| third person singular | bludgeons |
|---|---|
| past tense | bludgeoned |
| past participle | bludgeoned |
| -ing form | bludgeoning |
Common combinations
- bludgeon to death
- The novel opens with someone bludgeoned to death.
- bludgeon into submission
- They tried to bludgeon the town into submission.
- bludgeon with facts
- He bludgeoned them with facts.
- blunt bludgeon
- A blunt bludgeon was the weapon.
- bludgeon someone into
- Don't bludgeon me into agreeing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- club
- Club as a verb means to hit with a heavy stick, but bludgeon suggests repeated, brutal blows.
- batter
- Batter means to hit hard and repeatedly, and fits both people and buildings.
- coerce
- Coerce is formal and about forcing, while bludgeon is more forceful and aggressive.
- pummel
- Pummel usually means to hit with fists repeatedly.
Opposites
Word family
- bludgeoner noun
- someone who bludgeons
- bludgeoning noun
- the act of striking repeatedly
- bludgeoned adjective
- struck or forced
Commonly confused: bludgeon or budge?
bludgeon vs budge
Budge means to move slightly and sounds similar, but it is a gentle verb.
Practice
Rather than persuade voters, the campaign tried to ___ them into agreement with endless ads.
Choose one answer.
Bludgeon someone into something means to force them with relentless pressure. Invite, thank and excuse are gentler and do not take that pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bludgeon”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.