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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Gran Grif is one of several armed gangs designated last year by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026 -
Criminal gangs are also active.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Caleb Davies, another Kalshi trader who has earned $389,000 in culture markets over the past two years, says that the absence of financial organizations or syndicates of traders with big money allows knowledgeable traders to profit off of people who simply bet on their faves.—
David Hill,
Rolling Stone,
25 Mar. 2026
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The four-hour epic by by Aditya Dahr is the sequel to Dhurandhar ($20 million in North American) and stars Ranveer Singh as an undercover Indian intelligence agent working to infiltrate Pakistani politics and Karachi’s criminal syndicates.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Prosecutors accused Peters of stealing a Mesa County employee's security badge to help a man gain access to the county's voter systems to prove false conspiracies about the validity of the 2020 election results.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
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There is obviously a lot more going on, so leave your conspiracies and guesses to yourselves.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In mid-July, armed groups affiliated with Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri clashed with local Bedouin clans, spurring intervention by government forces who effectively sided with the Bedouins.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
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For almost as long, these two clans have also been intimate friends (and relations) of the Pelosi family.—
James Reginato,
Vanity Fair,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Some team owners and networks care about the potential drop in production value.—
Mac Engel
April 2,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Apr. 2026
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These platforms must forge collaborative networks that mutually reinforce one another and establish a rigorous framework that makes the cultural values of the biennial format legible, tangible, and palpable to various segments of society in the immediate locale and across the continent.—
Smooth Nzewi,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Mafias.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Mafias. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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