as in pirates
a criminal who attacks and steals from travelers and who is often a member of a group of criminals
They were two of the most famous bandits of the 19th century.
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Recent Examples of bandits
In the movie, Furiosa is taken from her idyllic home by bandits and grows up shuttled between psychopath Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and warlord Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme).
—
Rebecca Aizin, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026
Deportees from the United States are especially vulnerable to robbery and kidnapping because gangs and bandits assume that their families can pay larger ransoms.
—Caitlin Dickerson, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026
Joined by her hapless but loyal classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), Prue navigates a world of talking animals, bandits, and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 13 May 2026
Sardinian bandits sometimes fought back with their own sense of justice, settling matters through raids, kidnappings, and violence.
—IEEE Spectrum, 7 May 2026
The movie is understood to follow a sheriff and a doctor who seek revenge against a group of bandits who use the cover of a torrential thunderstorm to rob and terrorize the occupants of a small town.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2026
On Derby Day in 1923, four masked bandits raided the hotel poker room, escaping into the crowds with what would now amount to a small fortune.
—Hillary Richard, Robb Report, 23 Apr. 2026
Vulnerable rural communities regularly come under fire from Islamic extremists and bandits who take advantage of Nigeria’s vast rural areas and security gaps.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
An unusual theft at a Pennsylvania Wawa has police going bananas for a pair of potassium bandits.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026
Rebecca Aizin, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026
Deportees from the United States are especially vulnerable to robbery and kidnapping because gangs and bandits assume that their families can pay larger ransoms.
—Caitlin Dickerson, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026
Joined by her hapless but loyal classmate Curtis Mehlberg (Jacob Tremblay), Prue navigates a world of talking animals, bandits, and powerful figures driven by grief and ambition.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 13 May 2026
Sardinian bandits sometimes fought back with their own sense of justice, settling matters through raids, kidnappings, and violence.
—IEEE Spectrum, 7 May 2026
The movie is understood to follow a sheriff and a doctor who seek revenge against a group of bandits who use the cover of a torrential thunderstorm to rob and terrorize the occupants of a small town.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2026
On Derby Day in 1923, four masked bandits raided the hotel poker room, escaping into the crowds with what would now amount to a small fortune.
—Hillary Richard, Robb Report, 23 Apr. 2026
Vulnerable rural communities regularly come under fire from Islamic extremists and bandits who take advantage of Nigeria’s vast rural areas and security gaps.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
An unusual theft at a Pennsylvania Wawa has police going bananas for a pair of potassium bandits.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bandits
Noun
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Tens of thousands drowned, while others were raped, robbed, and murdered by pirates, finding vulnerable prey.—
Elizabeth Holtzman,
Time,
9 June 2026
-
No child, or reader of Robert Louis Stevenson, can deny the allure of pirates, but the marauders are rarely the good guys in the story.—
David A. Graham,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
Break a window and thieves might catch a break from facing a dedicated prosecutor in the misdemeanor unit at the Sacramento District Attorney's Office, as budget cuts are leading to cuts in that unit.—
Steve Large,
CBS News,
15 June 2026
-
Yet thieves have found a nasty workaround.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bandits.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bandits. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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