as in gangs
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Mafias
Noun
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He was known as a pugnacious investigator who had dismantled some of the country’s most violent gangs.—
Heidi Blake,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026 -
It was originally used by gangs to try to avoid police detection, but has since become rooted in their national identity, AFP has reported.—
Tom Burrows,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
Noun
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Alongside that, South Africa’s police force has been embroiled in scandal, accused of corruption and collusion with criminal syndicates.—
Michelle Gumede,
Los Angeles Times,
13 June 2026
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Applying terrorism designations to criminal syndicates, Brazilian officials say, conflicts with domestic legal definitions and risks blurring distinctions underpinning international counterterrorism law.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
1 June 2026
Noun
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Eight people were indicted for allegedly being involved in conspiracies to threaten university leaders, law enforcement officials and businesses.—
Elaine Rojas-Castillo,
CBS News,
13 June 2026
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The film references popular alien conspiracies such as Roswell and Nixon-Gleason, suggesting that there is perhaps some truth to them.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
13 June 2026
Noun
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The event consists of live music, competition events such as highland dancing and sheepdog trials, food vendors and educational classes on what Scottish clans are.—
Carlos Rico,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 June 2026
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Publishers Coolabi Group and Chinese online giant Tencent Video have greenlit the series, adapted from Erin Hunter’s novels about battling clans of feral cats, which have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
1 June 2026
Noun
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Across movie studios, television networks and content production firms, AI creators CNBC spoke to mentioned using a wide variety of generative AI tools, with Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, Kling, MiniMax, Seedance and Google’s AI Studio being frequently mentioned.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
11 June 2026
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The panel’s antitrust subcommittee considered whether the professional football league overstretched its antitrust exemption under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 by pooling the television rights for all 32 teams into a package that is then sold to various cable networks and streaming services.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
10 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Mafias.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Mafias. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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