DESPERADOS 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.

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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 Forty-six years after his death, Steve McQueen is still considered the King of Cool, a patron saint for adventurous desperados everywhere. — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026 Seghers transforms Cooper into another of her restless desperadoes—a Vietnam vet in quest of an unspoiled world. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026 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

Attacks by bandits are common across northern Nigeria where armed groups carry out attacks against civilian populations.

— ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026
Attacks by bandits are common across northern Nigeria, where armed groups carry out attacks against civilian populations.

— Dyepkazah Shibayan, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of bandits

Noun

His lacerating wit spares no member of his staff—a mix of true incompetents, off-putting savants, ticking time bombs, and onetime offenders prematurely consigned to professional purgatory.

— Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026
Penalties increase if offenders cover their faces or someone is injured.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of offenders

Noun

Directed by Grammy Award-winning filmmaker James Mackel, the visual is three-and-a-half minutes of spy stuff, our hero, dressed to impress, making short work of the many villains who lurk in her hotel.

— Lars Brandle, Billboard, 23 Oct. 2026
One of Batman’s creepiest villains is descending upon the box office this weekend.

— Jordan Moreau, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of villains

Noun

The stampede of hooves…the trumpeting of beasts… our friends and neighbors changing before our very eyes.

— Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026
Dangerous donkeys On one side is the public safety crowd, who insist the 500-pound beasts are a menace to the free flow of commerce.

— Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of beasts

Noun

In one of the many scary dream sequences David Naughton has while becoming a werewolf, his Jewish family back home is slaughtered by Nazi monsters.

— Vulture Editors, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026
Other popular depictions of ghouls conflated them with monsters such as zombies and demons.

— Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of monsters

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“Desperadoes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperadoes. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of desperadoes

noun

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