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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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

Armed groups, known as bandits in Nigeria, regularly carry out raids and kidnappings for ransom in the northwest and north-central parts of the country.

— ABC News, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
The area was wild and uninhabited, but the bandits moved through it with practiced ease.

— Alexis Okeowo, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of bandits

Noun

This high-security prison is a sprawling complex that houses thousands of detainees, including notorious gangsters, terrorists and prominent white-collar offenders.

— Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
Based upon their replies, occupying Allied officials ranked their culpability, then tried the worst offenders — most famously in the Nuremberg trials, but also in numerous local tribunals.

— Fern Schumer Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of offenders

Noun

Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, U30 lister Tom Holland, is back on the screen to beat both villains and records.

— Alexandra York, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
The aforementioned Richie Aprile, played wonderfully by David Proval, makes for one of the most menacing villains of the series.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of villains

Noun

But on Monday one of the bigger beasts of Wall Street, Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius, came out guns blazing at Warsh.

— Jim Edwards, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2026
In September, the Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup and Arts Festival brings in more than 20,000 spectators who line a hillside to watch riders corral the majestic beasts.

— Jess Hoffert, Midwest Living, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of beasts

Noun

As creatures from Indonesian mythology emerge to threaten his students’ community, Chris and his pupils find their fight extends beyond monsters to their own inner struggles.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Aug. 2026
The viruses the researchers created are not Frankenstein’s monsters.

— Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of monsters

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“Desperadoes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperadoes. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of desperadoes

noun

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