HATCHET MAN Synonyms: 69 Similar and Opposite Words

hatchet man

noun

Definition of hatchet man

as in attack dog

Related Words

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Dissimilar Words

as in wordmonger

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

nonauthor

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hatchet man While he was sent by the White House to be a hatchet man, Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon, should use a scalpel with care, conducting a real, legitimate probe that seeks ways to save money for taxpayers and improve outcomes for patients. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 13 Mar. 2026 In 2010, the duo separated, going opposite directions; Malice sought repentance through the church while Pusha became a hatchet man for Kanye West. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2025 Arthur is known as Conkling’s hatchet man, a customs collector for the Port of New York who’s shown, in one amusing snippet, presiding over the beating of a noncompliant businessman. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025 The White House and its hatchet men attacking culture are coming for the artists, curators, museum directors, docents, writers, and editors who value freedom and liberation and Black history and women’s history and ideas and progress. — Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025 Back home, more pink slips for federal employees go out and the scrutiny of Elon Musk's role as the hatchet man for those agencies intensifies. — CBS News, 16 Feb. 2025 Musician and producer Grimes made a rare comment involving her ex-partner and father to her three kids, Elon Musk, after their 4-year-old son appeared alongside the tech mogul turned government hatchet man at the White House on Wednesday. — Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Feb. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hatchet man

Noun

Continue reading … -- POLITICS 'BAD LOOK' – Newsom's attack dog taunts Buttigieg over South Carolina visit as 2028 fight heats up.

— , FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Pulte, the 38-year-old director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is best known for his role as a partisan attack dog for the president.

— Eric McDaniel, NPR, 11 June 2026

Definition of attack dog

Noun

But by the end of the movie, Verity is dead and her publishing empire has been usurped by her ghostwriter.

— Bethy Squires, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Vanity Fair’s global editorial director, Mark Guiducci, recently received an unsolicited email from a ghostwriter trying to sell him their services.

— Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of ghostwriter

Noun

According to the indictment, the father and son had been involved in buying, selling, breeding and training pit bull-type dogs for dogfighting since at least April 2016.

— Adam Thompson, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
These were two pit bull attorneys who’d stood up to companies wrongly trying to kick Floridians out of their homes.

— Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of pit bull

Noun

Animals that are also on the company’s de-extinction to-do list include the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger, the ostrich-like moa, and the antelope-like quagga.

— Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 14 Oct. 2026
The tiger remained in the enclosure following the attack, and there is no wider risk posed to the public, according to authorities.

— Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of tiger

Noun

Defense Undersecretary Emil Michael, a task force vice chair, will lead an effort to develop protocols for labs to tell the government about breaches, hacks and other cyber issues.

— Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
In this case, that failure enabled a mass hack that likely cost tens or hundreds of millions of euros.

— Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of hack

Noun

He was obsessed with Hemingway and was his major biographer in Cuba, and had great access to parts of Hemingway’s life and psyche.

— Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
Although Kensington Palace has yet to officially announce her attendance, royals biographer Russell Myers says this marks a significant milestone for the couple, who have made a point of attending engagements together in recent weeks.

— Katie Nicholl, Vanity Fair, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of biographer

Noun

As the cowriter, director, and star of the Leonard Bernstein drama, Cooper was ever-present during the awards campaign.

— Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 2 Oct. 2026
Ingrid Goes West is a blistering social-media satire from director and cowriter Matt Spicer, who also directed the Netflix original Little Brother.

— Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 31 July 2026

Definition of cowriter

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“Hatchet man.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hatchet%20man. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of hatchet man

noun

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