DESPERADOES Synonyms: 76 Similar and Opposite Words

desperadoes

noun

variants or desperados

plural of desperado

as in bandits

old-fashioned a violent criminal who is not afraid of getting hurt or caught A documentary about some notorious desperados of the Wild West.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of desperadoes Most are not desperados on the run. — William Morris, Des Moines Register, 4 Mar. 2026 These are desperadoes in the White House. — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 26 Nov. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for desperadoes

Noun

Snoopy and Woodstock line the outside of the bowl in costumes like cowboys, mummies, bandits, and witches.

— Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 2 Oct. 2026
They are huddled together around the camera, looking like a bizarre collection of bandits.

— Kyle Maclachlan, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of bandits

Noun

The prosecutor’s office stated that the Supreme Court could have applied a different interpretation of the law to ensure certain offenders remained on the public list.

— Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Wiener has passed laws protecting net neutrality, capping prescription costs and mandating mental health parity, ending mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, and requiring corporations disclose their greenhouse gas emissions.

— Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of offenders

Noun

The way it’s framed, both the heroes and the villains can only come from the tech community.

— Rumman Chowdhury, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2026
There aren’t any villains here, just young people making young people mistakes and older people making older people mistakes.

— Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of villains

Noun

The Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery (7 miles north of San Simeon) remains full of massive, delightfully noisy beasts.

— David G. Allan, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2026
Ridley Scott was that rarest of beasts in Hollywood, a guy who could make one riveting blockbuster after another while maintaining absolute creative integrity.

— Jimmy Chin, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of beasts

Noun

The main three projects — The Mummy, The Loudest Voice and Unabomber — each involve monsters in various forms.

— Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2026
The world has seen many hurricanes rapidly intensify in recent years, strengthening from relatively weak storms into destructive monsters in a matter of hours.

— Chanh Kieu, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of monsters

Browse Nearby Words

desperado

desperadoes

desperate

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Desperadoes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperadoes. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of desperadoes

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

perseverate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes