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 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 Despite being outnumbered fifty-to-one by the Five Families of the Italian Mafia, the Westies’ legendary brutality and cunning have given them the leverage necessary to share the spoils through a fragile détente. Joe Otterson, Variety, 22 July 2025 Her brother, a lawyer who had recently testified as part of an investigation into Mafia dealings, was shot to death by a pair of gunmen in his driveway in 1981. Jeff Lunden, NPR, 17 July 2025 Tsien is on the Steering Committee for the Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc) and is a board member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia. Matt Grobar, Deadline, 11 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for Mafia
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Mafia
Noun
  • Federal immigration agents in Kansas City arrested a 34-year-old man from Mexico last week who was previously deported several times and was identified as a gang member, according to a news release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Kansas City.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 4 Aug. 2025
  • With the support of Ye and other top military leaders, People’s Liberation Army troops arrested the gang.
    TYLER JOST, Foreign Affairs, 4 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Players will have to fight, steal and outwit their way through the galaxy's various crime syndicates and become the galaxy's most wanted.
    Meredith G. White, AZCentral.com, 7 Aug. 2025
  • The report added that preliminary investigations revealed these syndicates exported scrap metal to India, China and other countries but reported them as machinery or other metals not subject to the 15% export tax imposed by the government.
    Lionel Lim, Fortune, 18 July 2025
Noun
  • Vazquez previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic firearms and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
    Silas Morgan, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Aug. 2025
  • Federal charges against Cantrell in the Eastern District of Louisiana include conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements and obstruction of justice, court filings show.
    Michael Loria, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • For the past few years of Sweeney’s rise to fame, she’s been upheld as a beacon of the anti-woke mob, a symbol of Making America Great Again.
    Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Attorney: Separate skirmishes, no 'racist mob' Fox told The Enquirer that national and local voices have mischaracterized what actually happened.
    Kevin Grasha, The Enquirer, 2 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • One member of the Coleman clan who didn't return was Harold Gould, who played Grandpa in the first movie.
    Christopher Rudolph, People.com, 9 Aug. 2025
  • Ellen is a smart, strategic thinker frustrated by her brothers’ desire to use her as a pawn in clan politics.
    Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 9 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The network can also run in reverse, with the utility taking excess power from the grid at times of low demand and sending it into home batteries for storage.
    Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 7 Aug. 2025
  • The company is in the process of preparing to split itself in two, with the studios business, HBO, and HBO Max set to become a company called Warner Bros., and the linear networks set to become a company called Discovery.
    Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 7 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Mafia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Mafia. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

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