Meaning & use

bludgeon

verb·Advanced

To hit repeatedly with a heavy object, or to force someone into doing something through relentless pressure.

See it in a sentence

The victim had been bludgeoned with a blunt object during the robbery.

The committee felt bludgeoned into approving the plan after hours of aggressive lobbying.

A note on using this word

Bludgeon can describe literal violent blows or, figuratively, forceful and unrelenting pressure that overwhelms someone's resistance.

Words with a similar meaning

battercoerce

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Another way to use it

2. noun

A short, heavy club used as a weapon.

The old museum displayed a wooden bludgeon believed to be centuries old.

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