as in gangster
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
the Mob boss regularly sent his thugs after people who were slow to pay their debts
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of thug
Their neighbor, an older Jewish woman, gets arrested and Nazi thugs brazenly loot her apartment.
—
Rabih Alameddine
september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
As night falls, armed thugs roam the streets and families pick up guns to protect themselves.
—Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
Digging and cutting back garden thugs is often necessary to preserve what grows on your side of the fence.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2025
Some people are thugs for life.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Rabih Alameddine
september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
As night falls, armed thugs roam the streets and families pick up guns to protect themselves.
—Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
Digging and cutting back garden thugs is often necessary to preserve what grows on your side of the fence.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2025
Some people are thugs for life.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thug
Noun
-
The story about a gangster in modern day Chicago is inspired by the repentance story of the fifth-century saint of the same name.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Newspapers reported that Doyle died because of a disagreement with Russian gangsters.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
To suggest that another candidate’s supporters are criminals — particularly when that candidate is, by all measures, poised to win at least a plurality of votes in the city — does not seem like a recipe for earning New Yorkers’ support.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Binance also lacked protocols — standard for financial services companies — to report transactions for money laundering risks, according to the Justice Department, and employees were well aware that such an oversight would invite criminals to the platform.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Yet if the Dodgers are to be cast as villains from the Book of Samuel, Toronto brought to the fight far more than pebbles.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
The family moved to Hollywood 10 years later, and Gene Lockhart worked steadily as a character actor, usually in avuncular roles, sometimes as a villain.—
NPR,
NPR,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Pursued by brutal mercenaries and a deadly assassin, the trio must navigate twists, betrayals and historical secrets buried deep in Europe’s past.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Mistaken for the world’s deadliest assassin, Ben becomes the perfect decoy for Eden.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In classical antiquity, the mountainous region was notorious for bandits; in modern times, blood feuds among clans were rife.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
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Shortly after the museum opened on Sunday morning, two bandits used a lift on a truck to break into its Galerie d'Apollon, which houses the French crown jewels and other treasures, through a second-floor window.—
NPR,
NPR,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Believe it or not, this extra step is enough to make most thieves move on to easier prey.—
Katie Jackson,
Travel + Leisure,
26 Oct. 2025
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Police were racing the clock to find the intruders; experts say thieves of such treasures typically dismantle or melt down the loot, sometimes within hours, to avoid being caught.—
Robert Abitbol,
USA Today,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The story, originally conceived by Truffaut, is a thin, desultory affair, about a French hoodlum on the run and his doomed fling with an American expat.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
27 Sep. 2025
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Aleah and Grasso end up saving Lizzie’s ass and capturing the hoodlums.—
Grace Byron,
Vulture,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Maybe Charles went on to become a famous nephrologist, or part of the Christian-pirate community, or both.—
Sam Lipsyte,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Treasure Island had a pirate show, and the Mirage had this volcano show.—
Ashley J. DiMella,
FOXNews.com,
19 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thug. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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