hooligan
noun
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Synonyms for hooligan
Synonyms
bully, gangbanger, gangsta, gangster, goon, gorilla, hood, hoodlum, mobster, mug, plug-ugly, punk, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, thug, tough, toughie (also toughy), yob [British], yobbo [British]
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Examples of hooligan in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That is the issue that gave rise to the right-wing Alternative, plus assorted hooligans decked out in Nazi regalia like their kin in the U.S. There is no such overload today. — Josef Joffe, WSJ, "Is Germany Slouching Toward Weimar Again?," 23 Sep. 2018 England supporters have traveled to the tournament in far fewer numbers than in the past, perhaps due to pre-tournament fears over clashes with Russian hooligans. — Martin Rogers, USA TODAY, "England fan vandalizes cherished statue in Moscow," 3 July 2018 Apparently, some Russian soccer hooligans are being kept at bay. — New York Times, "Russia Wants to Play Nice With Foreigners. Just Not Too Nice.," 14 June 2018 There’s been next to no conversation here in Russia about club rifts, WAGs, hooligans or other England tournament traditions that have been so damaging or distracting in the past. — Brian Straus, SI.com, "England's New Three Lions Appear to Be a Different Animal at This World Cup," 24 June 2018 Although fears of violence by far-right hooligans proved mostly unfounded during the World Cup, many activists believe such groups will simply reemerge once the global spotlight dims. — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, "Russia’s World Cup dream ends, on and off the field," 9 July 2018 Fears about hooligan violence have proven to be unfounded so far. — Brian Straus, SI.com, "The World Cup of Chaos: Looking Back on a Group Stage for the Ages," 29 June 2018 Russia, whose many soccer hooligans were influenced by their English counterparts, has since cracked down on that kind of rioting at soccer matches. — Washington Post, "Can Russia, with its history of racist attacks and hooligans, put on a World Cup welcome?," 12 June 2018 But the jeering of Gundogan didn't appear to be restricted to right-wing hooligans. — Ciaran Fahey, Fox News, "Questions of loyalty cast shadow over German World Cup squad," 13 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hooligan.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Dictionary Entries near hooligan
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Last Updated
2 Dec 2018
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Time Traveler for hooligan
The first known use of hooligan was in 1896
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More Definitions for hooligan
hooligan
noun
English Language Learners Definition of hooligan
: a usually young man who does noisy and violent things as part of a group or gang
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