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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An IndyStar investigation, which is based on interviews with four dozen people, including current and former inmates, their families and former employees, found Miami Correctional is constantly beset by violence fueled by gangs and drugs.—
Kristine Phillips,
IndyStar,
5 Nov. 2025 -
While a decade ago the majority of knife crime perpetrated by young people was related to gangs, this is no longer the case, James Alexander, an associate enterprise fellow in criminology at London Metropolitan University, told CNN.—
Catherine Nicholls,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Such crackdowns attract notice from Boswell, who detects a civilian ally in his fight against local syndicates.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
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Elon Musk’s SpaceX has disabled more than 2,500 Starlink devices in and around scam centers in Myanmar, following warnings from activists that mainly Chinese syndicates were using the technology to defraud people worldwide.—
Mithil Aggarwal,
NBC news,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The list of debunks goes on and on and on; moon landing conspiracies, however, have remained persistently popular among some, even inspiring last year’s Fly Me to the Moon starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum.—
Adam Carlson,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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My starting point when assessing allegations of huge conspiracies is that secrets become exponentially harder to keep for every extra person who knows about them.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In classical antiquity, the mountainous region was notorious for bandits; in modern times, blood feuds among clans were rife.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
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But Gaza is home to numerous clans and militant groups, with score-settling and criminality posing a threat to order in the Palestinian enclave, even after the ceasefire.—
Christian Orozco,
NBC news,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Disney wants higher carriage fees to reflect the value of its networks, such as ESPN.—
Liam Reilly,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
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While emphasizing that the president has not made a final decision on launching strikes, the story said officials indicated that any potential air campaign would focus on sites that lie at the intersection of the Nicolás Maduro regime and the country’s drug-trafficking networks.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Mafias.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Mafias. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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