variants
or desperados
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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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
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
-
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
Noun
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To better understand what drives a young person to commit these crimes, CNN spent months searching for prior offenders willing to speak about their experience.—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
22 June 2026
-
Window treatments are one of the most common offenders.—
Angelika Pokovba,
Martha Stewart,
20 June 2026
Noun
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In keeping with the promotion, the Sox players’ photos on the video board cast them as villains wearing black and eye patches.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
17 June 2026
-
Beyond harsher criticism, sports media frames Black athletes differently — often naming them as villains, failures, antagonists or questioning their leadership when necessary.—
Brielle Miller,
Baltimore Sun,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
The findings, detailed today in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, suggest not only that all black holes emit such a wind but also that these beasts are not total loners that are isolated from their environments.—
Jeanna Bryner,
Scientific American,
4 June 2026
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The beasts’ finale was a spectacular ending to a worthy show.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
Noun
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Based on the popular Quebec comic book created by Samuel Parent and commissioned by and produced in collaboration with Télé-Québec, the series, aimed at 6 to 9-year-olds, follows the adventures of a fearless kid who confronts monsters that haunt children in the darkness of night.—
Ed Meza,
Variety,
22 June 2026
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With no idea what's going on, Dylan flees the FBC to find that the Hiss — otherworldly crimson monsters from another dimension — have overrun Manhattan.—
George Yang,
Space.com,
22 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Desperadoes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperadoes. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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