cudgelling
Striking with stick
Cudgelling is beating with a cudgel—a short, thick stick used as a weapon.
The word appears most often in the phrase cudgelling one's brains, meaning to think hard about something difficult: I've been cudgelling my brains trying to remember her name.
Also spelled cudgeling.
bludgeoning
Striking with weight
- clubbingVisiting nightclubs for entertainment
- thrashingDecisive, lopsided defeat
- pummelingSustained striking attack
battering · drubbing · pounding · walloping · bashing · assault · flogging · mauling · hammering · trouncing
pondering
Thinking deeply about something
- rackingInflicting severe strain
- strainingExerting intense effort
- wrestlingCombat sport requiring holds
deliberating · puzzling · concentrating · mulling · grappling · laboring · working · taxing · exerting · struggling
cudgellingstabbing
Wounding with a blade
shooting · knifing · slashing · piercing · bayoneting
cudgellingcaressing
Touching with affection
stroking · soothing · petting · gentle touch · embracing
cudgellingprotecting
Keeping from harm
shielding · nurturing · healing · comforting · defending