bludgeon

American  

[bluhj-uhn] / ˈblʌdʒ ən /

noun

• bludgeons
  plural

1. a short, heavy club with one end weighted, or thicker and heavier than the other.

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verb (used with object)

• bludgeons,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bludgeoned,
  past participle,  past
• bludgeoning
  present participle

1. to strike or knock down with a bludgeon.

2. to force into something; coerce; bully.

   The boss finally bludgeoned him into accepting responsibility.

bludgeon British  

/ ˈblʌdʒən /

noun

1. a stout heavy club, typically thicker at one end

2. a person, line of argument, etc, that is effective but unsubtle

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verb

1. to hit or knock down with or as with a bludgeon

2. (often foll by into) to force; bully; coerce

   they bludgeoned him into accepting the job

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bludgeoneer
  noun
• bludgeoner
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bludgeons
  plural

Participles

• bludgeoning
  present
• bludgeoned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bludgeon
  simple
• bludgeons
  simple
• have bludgeoned
  perfect
• has bludgeoned
  perfect
• am bludgeoning
  progressive
• are bludgeoning
  progressive
• is bludgeoning
  progressive
• have been bludgeoning
  perfect progressive
• has been bludgeoning
  perfect progressive

Past

• bludgeoned
  simple
• had bludgeoned
  perfect
• was bludgeoning
  progressive
• were bludgeoning
  progressive
• had been bludgeoning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bludgeon
  simple
• will have bludgeoned
  perfect
• will be bludgeoning
  progressive
• will have been bludgeoning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of bludgeon

First recorded in 1720–30; origin uncertain

Explanation

As a noun, a bludgeon refers to a heavy club used as a weapon. Synonyms for bludgeon include truncheon, nightstick, cudgel, and billy club. The verb bludgeon developed from the noun form. It means to strike repeatedly with a heavy club or similar weapon. If you have a cockroach invasion in your kitchen, you might be tempted to bludgeon the insects with a rolled up newspaper every time you turn on the lights. The verb bludgeon is also used metaphorically to mean to roughly coerce or force someone to do something as if you had a bludgeon. If your boss is a bully, he may bludgeon you and the other employees into working long hours for little recognition.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bludgeon bludgeons bludgeoned bludgeoning

The Federal Reserve is trying to bludgeon inflation and bring down annual price increases to 2% or less.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

“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

At their core, they are a team built to bludgeon opponents — not slap singles and drop down sacrifice bunts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2025

Rather than brainwashing us, the objective of the totalitarian is to bludgeon us into apathy, resignation and passivity.

From Salon ● May 24, 2025

So I fall back on the support networks of my real-life social class, call the dermatologist I know in Key West, and bludgeon him into prescribing something sight unseen.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

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

Mr. Norris’s undeniably dexterous hand is most effective — and subversive — when it tickles, instead of bludgeons.

From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2018

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

France has bludgeoned the opposition, scoring 16 goals while conceding just two.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 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

Iran’s fledgling nuclear-weapons program, already bludgeoned by U.S. and Israeli strikes last year, is now even further from producing a viable bomb.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026

India showed none as they bludgeoned their highest total at a T20 World Cup and passed 250 in a men's T20 international for the fifth time.

From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2026

If the cottonmouths hadn’t been enraged before, they were now, determined to destroy the possessed branch that had just bludgeoned three of their friends.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Mr. Mungiu, who has a stark, forthright style—no bludgeoning the audience with musical cues, no zingy dialogue—lets this life-upending moment play out in the blandest way imaginable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

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

“I cannot take any more spoken or silently whispered backstabbing and bludgeoning of my character and identity,” she wrote in the message late last month.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 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

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