variants
also toughy
as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
after numerous suspensions, the school toughies were finally expelled for gang activities on campus
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of toughie
Other toughies are at the not-so-soft Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13, the revenge trip to New England in Week 15 and the Philadelphia Eagles at Highmark Stadium in Week 17.
—
Tim Graham, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
And special days call for special grids, such as this set of six toughies that were originally shelved but have remained in our hearts.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025
Extra time may be spent looking for that toughie that was present just a few days ago.
—Taylor Piephoff, charlotteobserver, 15 Dec. 2017
Another cold-weather toughie is Alaska's red flat bark beetle, which, under lab conditions, can survive cooling down to minus 238 degrees Fahrenheit.
—Liz Langley, National Geographic, 10 Dec. 2016
The surprises come from Rachel McAdams, who holds her own as a wise-cracking toughie, and Peña, who defrosts from macho pride mode with low-key grace.
—Hugh Hart, WIRED, 29 Oct. 2008
Tim Graham, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
And special days call for special grids, such as this set of six toughies that were originally shelved but have remained in our hearts.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025
Extra time may be spent looking for that toughie that was present just a few days ago.
—Taylor Piephoff, charlotteobserver, 15 Dec. 2017
Another cold-weather toughie is Alaska's red flat bark beetle, which, under lab conditions, can survive cooling down to minus 238 degrees Fahrenheit.
—Liz Langley, National Geographic, 10 Dec. 2016
The surprises come from Rachel McAdams, who holds her own as a wise-cracking toughie, and Peña, who defrosts from macho pride mode with low-key grace.
—Hugh Hart, WIRED, 29 Oct. 2008
Recent Examples of Synonyms for toughie
Noun
-
No thug could hurt Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini)—North Jersey mob boss and sufferer of panic attacks—like his own family.—
John Ortved,
Vogue,
29 Oct. 2025
-
This haunting film was also his first collaboration with Hellboy’s Ron Perlman, who plays a thug out to get the beetle for his rich uncle.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Doing so with a CVS receipt-long injury list is all kinds of tough.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
-
The surge coincides with his tough on crime takeover of DC.—
Anna Commander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 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
-
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
-
For his inspiration, Trump points to a mood board that includes, among other images, photos of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Star Wars‘ powerful gangster Jabba the Hutt.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
1 Nov. 2025
-
His buddy Truffaut even has an idea about a would-be French gangster who gets into hot water, based roughly on the true-crime tabloid story of Michel Portail.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
31 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
-
Up until then, slashers were silent assassins or a breather.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Nov. 2025
-
Well, that, and the small matter of a conspiracy involving the Ministry of Defense, a neighboring assassin, and a young girl who may or may not be dead.—
Jon O'Brien,
IndieWire,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The book, which is from Australia, follows Bee and her fellow runaways, who discover a new friend, Paco, is a Lost Boy from Neverland who needs them to fight hordes of pirates led by a merciless new leader.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
4 Nov. 2025
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One could be seen wearing an all-denim outfit with an In-N-Out Burger employee hat, while the other wore a floral-print dress with a pirate-style hat.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
2 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Toughie.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toughie. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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