thug
noun
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noun
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adjective
Synonyms for thug
Synonyms
bully, gangbanger, gangsta, gangster, goon, gorilla, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, mobster, mug, plug-ugly, punk, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, tough, toughie (also toughy), yob [British], yobbo [British]
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Examples of thug in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The story begins in earnest when a trio of thugs invade Luke’s home, kill his parents and carry him off to the dark destination of the novel’s title. — William Sheehan, Washington Post, "Stephen King’s ‘The Institute’ turns our political moment into gripping horror," 9 Sep. 2019 Groups of thugs in white t-shirts have also been beating people—protestors or not—indiscriminately. — Nikhil Sonnad, Quartz, "Hong Kong’s police are rolling out harsh new tactics against protestors," 11 Aug. 2019 The German was driving through the streets of Golders Green in north London, when a pair of thugs brandishing knives began chasing him on mopeds. — SI.com, "Mesut Ozil & Sead Kolasinac Safe After Being Attacked by Knife-Wielding Gang in London," 25 July 2019 While police have not confirmed that the incident in Yuen Long was coordinated under the direction of a Triad group, the phenomenon of thugs-for-hire is common across the border in mainland China. — Helen Regan, CNN, "Fears of thugs-for-hire in Hong Kong after mob attack," 23 July 2019 With the attacks in Yuen Long, the protests have entered a stage that many Hong Kong activists fear from past experience: the use of thugs to intimidate demonstrators. — Austin Ramzy, BostonGlobe.com, "Mob attack at Hong Kong train station heightens seething tensions in city," 22 July 2019 After a midnight bag drop to some armed thugs, cut to a club where Zayn makes a delivery to Bauer and dream-like images of the singer hooking up with the mystery woman. — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, "Zayn is an International Man of Mystery in Epic 'Let Me' Video: Watch," 12 Apr. 2018 While Chechen thugs initially were blamed, the Russian government much later pointed to Khodorkovsky and his right-hand man Leonid Nevzlin as architects of the contract killing — an arrest warrant forces Khodorkovsky to remain in exile in London. — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Citizen K': Film Review | Venice 2019," 31 Aug. 2019 In the space of 30 hours, thugs have assaulted protest organisers and the police have conducted mass arrests of pro-democracy lawmakers and activists, including me. — The Economist, "“We long to see a Hong Kong free from tyranny”," 31 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'thug.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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21 Sep 2019
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thug
noun
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