cudgel
1 of 2noun
cud·gel ˈkə-jəl 
: a short heavy club
The eighteenth-century audience went to the theatre armed with whistles, rattles, … and sometimes even wooden cudgels.
Ronald Hayman
Ronald Haymancudgel
2 of 2verb
cudgeled or cudgelled; cudgeling or cudgelling ˈkəj-liŋ
ˈkə-jə-
transitive verb
: to beat with or as if with a cudgel
Synonyms
Noun
- bastinado
- bastinade
- bat
- baton
- billy
- billy club
- bludgeon
- cane
- club
- nightstick
- rod
- rung [Scottish]
- sap
- shillelagh
- shillalah
- staff
- truncheon
- waddy [Australian]
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun a farmer armed with a cudgel drove us off his land
Recent Examples on the Web Stephen Singer, Hartford Courant, 3 July 2022 Without bipartisan support, bail reform would be a political lightning rod wielded as a cudgel against those who voted for it. Kelan Lyons, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2022 In theory, the certification policy gives compliance officers a new cudgel to increase their clout: the ability to refuse certification. Dylan Tokar, WSJ, 16 June 2022 Even before those actions, the Biden administration had doubled down on a Trump administration policy of wielding export controls as a cudgel against Chinese companies. New York Times, 5 July 2022 Accusations of grooming are being used as a cudgel against those raising questions about such legislation and critics of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to investigate certain gender-affirming care as child abuse. Michael Smolenscolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Apr. 2022 Some Democrats have privately expressed concern that Republicans may use any hike in gas prices as a political cudgel against them ahead of the midterm elections. New York Times, 7 Mar. 2022 López Obrador could also use the results of the vote as a cudgel to prod lawmakers to approve some of the most sweeping legislation of his presidency. Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2022 For years, there have been calls to revise the landmark California Environmental Quality Act to keep it from being used as a legal cudgel to block housing projects. San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2022 The Economist, 20 July 2019 In the winter of 1775-76, Dunbar didn’t stand a chance against the 40 patriots in Farmington, Conn., who cudgeled him nearly to death near his home. Caitlin Fitz, WSJ, 11 July 2017 See More
Noun
Democrats will wield another cudgel to put Republicans on the defensive: the conduct of former President Donald Trump. Stephen Singer, Hartford Courant, 3 July 2022 Without bipartisan support, bail reform would be a political lightning rod wielded as a cudgel against those who voted for it. Kelan Lyons, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2022 In theory, the certification policy gives compliance officers a new cudgel to increase their clout: the ability to refuse certification. Dylan Tokar, WSJ, 16 June 2022 Even before those actions, the Biden administration had doubled down on a Trump administration policy of wielding export controls as a cudgel against Chinese companies. New York Times, 5 July 2022 Accusations of grooming are being used as a cudgel against those raising questions about such legislation and critics of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to investigate certain gender-affirming care as child abuse. Michael Smolenscolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Apr. 2022 Some Democrats have privately expressed concern that Republicans may use any hike in gas prices as a political cudgel against them ahead of the midterm elections. New York Times, 7 Mar. 2022 López Obrador could also use the results of the vote as a cudgel to prod lawmakers to approve some of the most sweeping legislation of his presidency. Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2022 For years, there have been calls to revise the landmark California Environmental Quality Act to keep it from being used as a legal cudgel to block housing projects. San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2022 Verb
Yet doing away with the government’s critic-cudgelling arsenal should be a much higher priority. The Economist, 20 July 2019 In the winter of 1775-76, Dunbar didn’t stand a chance against the 40 patriots in Farmington, Conn., who cudgeled him nearly to death near his home. Caitlin Fitz, WSJ, 11 July 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English kuggel, from Old English cycgel; perhaps akin to Middle High German kugele ball
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1596, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing cudgel
Kids Definition
cudgel 1 of 2
noun
cud·gel ˈkə-jəl
: a short heavy club
cudgel
2 of 2verb
cudgeled or cudgelled; cudgeling or cudgelling
: to beat with or as if with a short heavy club
cudgels 1 of 2
noun
as in batons
a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment a farmer armed with a cudgel drove us off his land Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- batons
- canes
- truncheons
- bludgeons
- mallets
- nightsticks
- staves
- hammers
- bats
- shillelaghs
- maces
- rods
- billies
- staffs
- clubs
- billy clubs
- bastinadoes
- saps
- waddies
- shillalahs
- sledgehammers
- bastinades
- staves
- rungs
- blackjacks
- knobkerries
- mauls
- rattans
- hickories
- birches
- beetles
- gavels
- croziers
- crooks
- switches
- crosiers
- walking sticks
- crabsticks
- whangees
cudgels
2 of 2verb
as in chops
Synonyms & Similar Words
- chops
- clouts
- thwacks
- whacks
- bludgeons
- hammers
- boxes
- socks
- attacks
- assaults
- smacks
- knocks
- slaps
- cuffs
- raids
- punches
- assails
- swipes
- spanks
- whams
- swats
- clubs
- lams
- paddles
- mauls
- hits
- slams
- rushes
- whips
- wallops
- slates
- besets
- storms
- smashes
- pommels
- bats
- pummels
- whomps
- thumps
- pastes
- pelts
- belts
- blackjacks
- canes
- lathers
- licks
- tans
- bashes
- buffets
- birches
- cracks
- batters
- thrashes
- whales
- horsewhips
- lashes
- clobbers
- belabors
- threshes
- busts
- works over
- punches out
- pounds
- curries
- lays on
- flogs
- scourges
- leathers
- switches
- flagellates
- laces
- hides
- lambastes
- descends (on or upon)
- cowhides
- fibs
- drubs
- straps
- whups
- whaps
- bastes
- lacerates
- rawhides
- slogs
- lambasts
- whops
- jumps (on)
- does
- wounds
- tromps
- bungs up
- beats
- pistol-whips
- roughs (up)
- gores
- pounces (on or upon)
- mangles
- maims
- fustigates
- messes (up)
- mutilates