bludgeon
verb
- hit hard
noun
- a short stick that usually has one thick or loaded end and is used as a weapon
- something used to attack or bully
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈblʌd͡ʒ.ən/ / /ˈblʊd͡ʒ.ən/
noun
Etymology: First attested in 1730. Origin uncertain, perhaps of Cornish origin (recorded as blogon c. 1450) or from Middle French bougeon, a diminutive of bouge (“club, stick”).
- A short, heavy club, often of wood, which is thicker or loaded at one end.
“We smashed the radio with a steel bludgeon.”
verb
Etymology: First attested in 1730. Origin uncertain, perhaps of Cornish origin (recorded as blogon c. 1450) or from Middle French bougeon, a diminutive of bouge (“club, stick”).
- To strike or hit with something hard, usually on the head; to club.
“The apprehended rioter was bludgeoned to death.”
“They didn't get shot to death in hold-ups, strangled to death in rapes, stabbed to death in saloons, bludgeoned to death with axes by parents or children or die summarily by some other act of God.”
- To coerce someone, as if with a bludgeon.
“Their favorite method was bludgeoning us with the same old arguments in favor of their opinions.”
“Gianna Parasini: You've never worked in the corporate world, have you, Commander? You can't bludgeon through bureaucracy. Shepard: I can bludgeon pretty hard.”