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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The Placer County Sheriff's Office said some members of the network were allegedly affiliated with a Mexican drug trafficking organization as well as Sacramento-area drug and firearms trafficking gangs.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
16 Mar. 2026 -
The mining gangs are often armed and violent in protecting their territory and are controlled by criminal syndicates, authorities say.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Carlsen noted that funds from both IT worker schemes and crypto heists frequently end up with Chinese brokers tied to organized-crime syndicates.—
Lisa Cavazuti,
NBC news,
15 Mar. 2026
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Recent Mexican history is riddled with the tales of once-powerful syndicates — gangs in Guadalajara, Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez, among them — that ruptured, were gobbled up by other mobs or petered out as the big guys were captured or killed.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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As the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris’ newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas) threatens to send everyone’s trip to the remote paradise sideways.—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
19 Mar. 2026
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Carlson is known to trade in conspiracies and has been outspoken about his objections to the war in Iran.—
Fritz Farrow,
ABC News,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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Salvation takes place in a mountainous region of Turkey where two Kurdish clans have grown up in constant distrust of each other.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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This property is crucial for generating quantum entanglement between distant nodes, another cornerstone of future quantum communication networks, as per the release.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Mar. 2026
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That’s a problem since minor league sports are far less popular with fans and less attractive to television networks and other key partners.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
18 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Mafias.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Mafias. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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