blunt instrument

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablelegal

   A heavy object with no sharp edge, such as a club or hammer, used to hit and injure someone.

   Grammar: Countable and common in police reports: killed with a blunt instrument.

   Patterns

   • struck with a blunt instrument

   The detective said the victim had been struck with a blunt instrument.

   Police have not yet found the blunt instrument used in the attack.

   In the novel, the butler is cleared once the blunt instrument is traced.

2. 2nouncountablefigurativedisapproving

   A crude, forceful method or tool that achieves something but without care, subtlety or precision.

   Grammar: Figurative; often with a: tariffs are a blunt instrument.

   Patterns

   • a blunt instrument for something

   Critics say raising interest rates is a blunt instrument that hurts everyone.

   A total ban is a blunt instrument for solving a complex problem.

   He used his authority as a blunt instrument to silence debate.

Word forms

Common combinations

killed with a blunt instrument

The man was killed with a blunt instrument.

a blunt instrument of policy

Sanctions are a blunt instrument of policy.

use a blunt instrument

The agency used a blunt instrument to cut costs.

blunt instrument trauma

The report cited blunt instrument trauma.

Synonyms and how they differ

bludgeon

It is a heavy club or the act of hitting with one, while blunt instrument is the broader category.

cudgel

It names a short thick stick, so it is more specific than blunt instrument.

crude tool

It is the plain figurative equivalent, without the crime-story flavor of blunt instrument.

Opposites

Word family

blunt adjective

not sharp, or very direct

bluntly adverb

in a direct way

instrument noun

a tool or device

bluntness noun

directness

Commonly confused: blunt instrument or sharp instrument?

Practice

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