mafioso

noun

ma·​fi·​o·​so ˌmä-fē-ˈō-(ˌ)sō 

ˌma-,

-(ˌ)zō

plural mafiosi ˌmä-fē-ˈō-(ˌ)sē 

ˌma-,

-(ˌ)zē

: a member of the Mafia or a mafia

Examples of mafioso in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The top mafioso, convicted of masterminding some of Italy’s most heinous slayings – including the killings of prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino – subsequently died in September 2023 in a maximum-security prison. —Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 27 June 2024

The romantic relationship between Chechen mafioso NoHo Hank and Bolivian crime boss Cristobal. —Longreads, 26 Jan. 2024

Mean Streets, his 1973 crime drama that forged the template for all his later gangster films, finds Harvey Keitel's protagonist constantly reckoning with the imbalance between his Catholic faith and his lifestyle as an up-and-coming mafioso. —EW.com, 26 Oct. 2023

As in the Western caper Butch Cassidy, Newman and Redford play outlaws of sorts in The Sting: 1930s grifters Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker, who work together to pull off a heist against a Chicago mafioso. —Hilton Dresden, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Italian, from Italian dialect (Sicily) mafiusu gallant, swaggerer, perhaps alteration of marfusu scoundrel

First Known Use

1875, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

mafioso

noun

ma·​fi·​o·​so ˌmäf-ē-ˈō-sō 

ˌmaf-,

-zō

plural mafiosi -sē 

-zē

: a member of the Mafia