enforcer

noun

Definition of enforcernext
1
as in disciplinarian

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2
as in thug

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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 enforcer Connor Clattenburg is a throwback player who can play agitator and enforcer and chip in with goals. — Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026 Schweihs, who according to authorities spent decades as a reputed enforcer for the mob’s Grand Avenue street crew, died of cancer in 2008 while awaiting trial. — Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026 Breakout gay hockey drama Heated Rivalry is continuing to add to its season two cast, with Daniel Diemer set to play Ryan Price, a tough guy enforcer battling anxiety off the ice. — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 25 Aug. 2026 Ryan, with a reputation as an all-star enforcer, is traded to the Toronto Guardians team. — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for enforcer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enforcer
  1. disciplinarian
  2. thug
  3. taskmaster
  4. gangster
  5. dictator
  6. mobster
  7. tyrant
  8. racketeer
Noun
  • During his time with the Yankees, Mendoza was known as a disciplinarian behind the scenes, but the team loved and respected his hard coaching.
    — Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 26 June 2026
  • You are asked to be teachers, counselors, social workers, disciplinarians, mentors, advocates, crisis managers and emotional anchors for children navigating an increasingly complicated world.
    — Susana A. Mendoza, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2026
Definition of disciplinarian
Noun
  • The residents occasionally gather in a disused rec center but the meetings devolve into rants about immigrants, junkies, thugs and vigilantism.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 26 Sep. 2026
  • That a Christian man was responsible for the devastation in Oklahoma City certainly didn’t matter to the thugs who terrorized a Muslim woman there, nearly seven months pregnant, by attacking her home, breaking her windows, screaming religious slurs.
    — Reshma Memon Yaqub, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of thug
Noun
  • Also known as the planet of structure, discipline and limitations, the taskmaster’s journey through Aries creates friction between our instincts and restraint.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026
  • She is thrown into isolation before getting the opportunity to once again assimilate, Marc is a genuine taskmaster, but a dedicated defender publicly and to the cops about the legitimacy of his operation and its residents.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Definition of taskmaster
Noun
  • But when a patient recognizes him from his dangerous past, Brown has eight hours to elude the government, mob hitmen, quack surgeons, and a trail of dead gangsters to somehow beat the reaper.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Somebody like Gilroy or Jeff Kober and Barry Corbin (popping up occasionally as a pair of geriatric gangsters) will come and go in situations knowingly designed to feel contrived.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of gangster
Noun
  • Finchelstein, Stanley and others warn that the most dangerous moment for democracies can be when a wanna-be dictator loses momentum.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • No matter how powerful, dictators have always needed subordinates—censors, propagandists, security guards, police officers, intelligence analysts, and local bureaucrats—to carry out their orders.
    — Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of dictator
Noun
  • But Rankin mentions a Japanese mobster who was asked what the arrival of overseas competitors meant for the ancient codes of yakuza chivalry.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Jay cites the scene in which Tommy DeVito (played by Joe Pesci) threatens Billy Batts (Frank Vincent) with increasingly outrageous acts of violence, turning the mobster’s menace into dark comedy.
    — John Kennedy, VIBE.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of mobster
Noun
  • Plato warned that an unhealthy democracy can easily fall prey to a tyrant.
    — Kenneth Michael White, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Some of the rumors, and a few of the reports at the time, paint Khrzhanovsky as a tyrant who went mad with power, like Colonel Kurtz in Heart of Darkness (or maybe Francis Ford Coppola making Apocalypse Now).
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of tyrant
Noun
  • Of course, entrusting waste management to gangsters and racketeers has repercussions.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 July 2026
  • Ferro pleaded guilty in October 2025 to conspiracy to participate in a racketeer influenced and corrupt organization.
    — Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 8 May 2026
Definition of racketeer

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enforced
enforcer
enforcers
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Cite this Entry

“Enforcer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enforcer. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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