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 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
  1. bandits
  2. offenders
  3. villains
  4. beasts
  5. monsters
Noun
  • The father pulls over, and the car is immediately swarmed over by bandits, who brutally kill him — plus his wife and two kids — with no mercy.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026
  • In the decade of violent conflicts that followed, attacks on border towns and seizures of American property by revolutionaries and bandits prompted the United States to send two military expeditions into Mexico.
    — Robert B. Zoellick, Foreign Affairs, 9 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
  • Set on a mysterious island ravaged by floods and warring armies, a masked boy and girl must traverse atmospheric environments, rescue friends, and confront nightmarish monsters.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Wētā is famous for its monsters and sci-fi creatures, so making a romantic lead gave the creatives a unique challenge.
    — Emily Maskell, IndieWire, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of monsters

Browse Nearby Words

desperado
desperadoes
desperate
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Desperadoes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperadoes. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All