as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
Al Capone remains one of the most notorious gangsters in American history
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gangster
After all, the larger-than-life actor was mostly known for playing a gangster in Goodfellas (1990).
—
Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Mar. 2026
Together, the grimy pair start riding the rails across the country, watching movies starring Frank’s favorite actor, Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal), and somehow sparking a feminist plot to overthrow the kinds of mean gangsters who killed Ida in the first place.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
When Martin gets blackmailed by gangsters, the pair knock off a mafia henchman and plunge themselves deep into the Australian underworld, all while trying to keep their business afloat.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 4 Mar. 2026
After a career defined by playing gangsters, an avenging taxi driver and a paranoid prize fighter, the Oscar-winning actor recited a call for civility, as first spoken by Abraham Lincoln.
—Hillel Italie, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gangster
Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Mar. 2026
Together, the grimy pair start riding the rails across the country, watching movies starring Frank’s favorite actor, Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal), and somehow sparking a feminist plot to overthrow the kinds of mean gangsters who killed Ida in the first place.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
When Martin gets blackmailed by gangsters, the pair knock off a mafia henchman and plunge themselves deep into the Australian underworld, all while trying to keep their business afloat.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 4 Mar. 2026
After a career defined by playing gangsters, an avenging taxi driver and a paranoid prize fighter, the Oscar-winning actor recited a call for civility, as first spoken by Abraham Lincoln.
—Hillel Italie, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gangster
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gangster
Noun
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The new Homeland Security person needs to unmask the thugs causing harm to families and innocent children.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Mar. 2026
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The centerpiece is, of course, the melee/dance-off between the ensemble in white tutus and the violent thugs, toe blade and all.—
Lé Baltar,
IndieWire,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
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These laws make anyone who’s even a little gender nonconforming an object of suspicion, a potential criminal.—
Darren Rosenblum,
Mercury News,
21 Mar. 2026
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Many people copy cryptocurrency wallet addresses before sending digital currency, and those addresses can be valuable to criminals.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
21 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The movie does attempt to gesture at class and race as thematic underpinnings (the maids trapped in The Virgil are mostly non-white, while the villains are rich Caucasians), but like the story and action at large, these go pretty much nowhere, and feel like obligatory symbols.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
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Each ship name in the class has fed into a theme on board, with Wish tied to enchantment, Treasure to adventure and Destiny to heroes and villains.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The latter seemed to be a proud vindication of corridos, a style that’s been increasingly under scrutiny in música mexicana because of its tradition of name-checking outlaws, bandits, and cartel leaders.—
Julyssa Lopez,
Rolling Stone,
14 Mar. 2026
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Police arrested one of four snowball bandits caught on camera clobbering the cops with snow.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
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On paper, Gosling’s turn as a CIA operative named Six who is entrusted with protecting a tween girl from an unhinged assassin should be, if not amazing, at least watchable.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
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McDonagh’s skill at crisp dialogue and character in his movies is evident in the opening scene for the teaser trailer where Chris boasts of his body count as an assassin worldwide, which has Lee warning against talk of killing people on an airplane.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Out March 27 on Hulu, the film, directed by BenDavid Grabinski, follows mobster Nick (Vaughn), who travels back in time so that Future Nick and Present Nick can save fellow gangster buddy Mike (James Marsden) from being murdered.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
15 Mar. 2026
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That’s when the son of a local mobster comes in to collect money on a debt Devora owes his father.—
Jada Yuan,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gangster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gangster. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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