Definition of Mafianext
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 More than 30 people, including members and associates of four major Mafia crime families, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and ex-NBA player Damon Jones, have been ensnared in the scheme. Tom Winter, NBC news, 10 June 2026 The Alphabet Mafia will not stand for straight attractive White girls to dominate their sport, regardless of the success that the new class has brought the league. Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2026 The game, which is essentially Mafia, hit big with nearly 500 million monthly active users by its peak in the fourth quarter of 2020, no doubt fueled by the at-home isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for Mafia
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Mafia
Noun
  • Brun was primarily supplied by Maluelue Umu, a bald Samoan man with ties to the USO prison gang, whom Brun had met during his days volunteering at the jail.
    Guthrie Scrimgeour, Rolling Stone, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Such a dire occasion, where families were subjected to physical abuse from the French police and local gangs, would shed light on the nature of relationships at UEFA.
    Simon Hughes, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Criminal syndicates operating throughout Asia use cryptocurrency to facilitate massive online fraud operations targeting victims around the world.
    Mitchell Silber, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Every woman, child, and man alive was out here grinding all day every day except on Lincoln’s Birthday in death-trap packing plants controlled by a five-man syndicate called the Beef Trust.
    Claire Carusillo, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • That includes $4 million from Richard Uihlein, the Illinois billionaire and Trump supporter who often funds organizations and causes that promote election conspiracies and far-right candidates.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026
  • With their claims of conspiracies and control of the wind, the Republicans have become the party of magical thinking.
    Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 3 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • While the violent mobs who hurled stones at marchers in 1966 are long gone, civil rights advocates say their demands remained strikingly familiar and that the threat to democracy has not disappeared.
    Lila Hempel-Edgers, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Over the next dozen years, Pastore appeared in supporting or bit roles in several films and TV shows, including the Martin Scorsese mob classic Goodfellas and Robin Williams and Robert De Niro’s medical drama Awakenings, both in 1990.
    Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Though another fox clan ultimately adopts him, their care feels like only a temporary reprieve from advancing human nihilism.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026
  • This large family group, including dozens of women and children from the Hassayna and Abu Sharia clan in Gaza City, died nearly three years ago.
    Ramy Inocencio, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • But Golden State also has established a bar network in the region — 35 spots and counting — creating hubs for fans to gather to watch games.
    Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The letter was addressed to her father and the sender introduced himself as Nigel Browning, the proprietor of a network of short- and long-term accommodations for the impoverished of Liverpool, the same city the Empress had set out to explore.
    Claire Carusillo, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Mafia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Mafia. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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