I. ˈbləjən noun
( -s )
Etymology: origin unknown
1.
a. : a short stick used as a weapon usually having one thick, heavy, or loaded end : billy
b. : any similar weapon ; especially : blackjack
2. : a verbal or intellectual attack or criticism
the Victorians, … under the bludgeon of Lytton Strachey and his followers toppled from their high estate — Saturday Review
also : the means or instrument of such attack or criticism
substituting … for Guillaume's delicacy the bludgeon of satire — R.A.Hall b. 1911
II. transitive verb
( bludgeoned ; bludgeoned ; bludgeoning -j(ə)niŋ ; bludgeons )
1. : to hit with a bludgeon : beat
bludgeoned to death
2. : to overcome by aggressive argument : overbear , bully
we do not talk — we bludgeon one another with facts and theories — Henry Miller
conversationally bludgeons his way through the world — Wyndham Lewis
3. : coerce
bludgeoned into learning grammatical rules