as in bandits
formal + old-fashioned
a person who commits robbery usually as part of a group
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Recent Examples of brigands
Then rumors started spreading about armed brigands that would come to town to steal what little harvest folks had left, so towns raised militias to fight back.
—
Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 24 Sep. 2025
Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brigands
Noun
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The authentic Denver and Rio Grande train that has operated at Knott’s since 1952 boasts the highest crime rate in all of Orange County with the notorious Ghost Town bandits robbing every departure from the Calico Square depot.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
21 Jan. 2026
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Whiskey Row celebrates Prescott's Old West history, with saloons once occupied by outlaws and bandits.—
Paige Moore,
AZCentral.com,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Immigration and Integration Minister Rasmus Stoklund said 315 foreign criminals from countries outside the European Union had received sentences of more than a year over the last five years but were not expelled.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
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Top police brass nationwide rarely criticize their federal partners, relying on collaboration to investigate gangs, extremist groups and other major criminals — while also counting on millions in funding from Washington each year.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Then there’s the scourge known as porch pirates.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
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Under the chandelier lights, actors dressed as Joan of Arc, pirates, and mythical beasts waltz over a celestial floor and crack jokes between takes.—
Madeline Hirsch,
InStyle,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
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These are desperadoes in the White House.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
26 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Based on the novel by Stephen King, The Running Man is a dystopian sci-fi movie about a reality TV show where contestants, known as Runners, must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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In the first season of action thriller A Shop For Killers, Kim Hye-jun starred as Jeong Ji-an, a college student who must fight off a bevy of highly skilled assassins while trying to get to the bottom of her uncle’s death.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Castillo said the solution requires leadership, coordination and a return to focused enforcement that prioritizes violent criminal offenders over broad street operations that escalate confrontation.—
Stepheny Price , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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In fact, reconciliation was often ill-advised, especially if offenders had not expressed remorse or commitment to any type of meaningful change.—
Richard Balkin,
The Conversation,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Ciri, unbeknowest to her surrogate ma and pa, is free of her Nilfgaardian captors and on the run with a band of adolescent ruffians, and perhaps figuring out how to take care of herself.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
30 Oct. 2025
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When both young people meet their end the Baron saves Christina by putting Hans’ brain in Christina’s body, uniting their blurred identities in a joint thirst for revenge, creating a Gothic avenger who hunts down the aristocratic ruffians who ruined their happiness.—
Rory Doherty,
Vulture,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But hopes that the punch was a wake-up call to the crooks.—
Jermont Terry,
CBS News,
15 Jan. 2026
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Against Maduro and his crooks, who turn our country into a humanitarian crisis.—
David Unsworth,
FOXNews.com,
3 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Brigands.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brigands. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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