as in gang
a group involved in secret or criminal activities the local Mafia largely finances itself through extortion rackets and drug trafficking

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of Mafia Presley’s friends in the Memphis Mafia were convinced that Elvis wanted to tour the world and blamed Parker’s fear of deportation. Kim Willis, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025 Latin Mafia’s appearance at Lollapalooza felt, to many, like a tribute to Latin music. Sophie Levenson, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025 Swedish House Mafia plays the second weekend of Tomorrowland 2025 today. Katie Bain, Billboard, 25 July 2025 De Soto Music and shopping together The Rhythm & Roots Market will feature Superstar Mafia from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, July 25, in Downtown DeSoto. Debra Skodack, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for Mafia
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Mafia
Noun
  • More than 60% of the capital's health facilities, including Haiti's general hospital, are now shuttered or non-functioning because of the surge in gang violence.
    NPR, NPR, 17 Oct. 2025
  • In the current funding lapse — which is already longer than most previous government shutdowns — those gangs are nowhere to be found.
    Emily Wilkins, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Buford spent years immersing himself in the world of British hooligan soccer syndicates.
    Ed Lavandera, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2025
  • In the 2000s and 2010s, small funds and angel syndicates thrived.
    Roman Axelrod, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • As other seemingly unconnected incidents start to happen around her (one friend goes missing, another is attacked), conspiracies are everywhere and Chloe must try to separate truth from fiction while fearing for her life.
    Kate Belli, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
  • Jackson was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, while Dontell was sentenced to 15 years in prison for being an accessory to murder and five years for conspiracy to murder.
    Mason Leath, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The first of these two scenes—in Act 3, scene 3—features mob violence.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The novel brings readers to 1870 Los Angeles and follows the stories of three Chinese women who survived the Chinese Massacre of 1871, which resulted in the lynching of 18 Chinese people at the hands of a mob.
    Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • But Trump has already indicated a willingness to meddle in the workings of media companies — and given his closeness with the Ellison clan, he’s widely expected to weigh in.
    Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 20 Oct. 2025
  • The director continues to drum up the suspense when, after a Hollywood-style car chase that’s perfectly executed, the clan arrives at Iman’s childhood home in the mountains, where things definitely take a turn into thriller territory and several guns come back into play.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The Tunnels story is that Chinese immigrants built a network of tunnels under the city because they were forced to live underground; the tunnels were then used by gangsters and bootleggers, including Al Capone.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 20 Oct. 2025
  • The benefits of that blockbuster merger, which gave Capital One a proprietary payments network to lessen its reliance on Mastercard and Visa over time, are at the heart of our investment thesis.
    Zev Fima,Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Mafia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Mafia. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.

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