as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
the argument that the DEA needs to focus more on the kingpins of the drug trade and less on the gangbangers in the street
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Recent Examples of gangbanger
Murdered within about six months of each other at the height of their fame in the 1990s, their deaths spawned conspiracy theories of hitmen, coverups and cops on gangbangers’ payrolls.
—
Veronica Bravo, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
This is quite the new phenomenon for all the gangbangers, fentanyl dealers, girlfriend-beaters, drunk drivers and pedophiles — going to church.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 17 Aug. 2025
The indictment against the gangbangers, which was unsealed on June 16, follows a Fox News Digital report from April revealing that local leaders were sounding the alarm about the 18th Street Gang sweeping in to take control of the area.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 10 July 2025
During the public comment period at an October meeting, a concerned community member told the Cudahy City Council that his neighborhood is plagued by drug dealing and gangbangers.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2025
In that film, Ice Cube is Doughboy, a gangbanger who loses first his brother and then his own life, both offerings in a fatalistic cycle of street vengeance.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 14 June 2025
Veronica Bravo, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
This is quite the new phenomenon for all the gangbangers, fentanyl dealers, girlfriend-beaters, drunk drivers and pedophiles — going to church.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 17 Aug. 2025
The indictment against the gangbangers, which was unsealed on June 16, follows a Fox News Digital report from April revealing that local leaders were sounding the alarm about the 18th Street Gang sweeping in to take control of the area.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 10 July 2025
During the public comment period at an October meeting, a concerned community member told the Cudahy City Council that his neighborhood is plagued by drug dealing and gangbangers.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2025
In that film, Ice Cube is Doughboy, a gangbanger who loses first his brother and then his own life, both offerings in a fatalistic cycle of street vengeance.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 14 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gangbanger
Noun
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Girls were there and there were guys that were really extra on some thug, some goon sh*t.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
29 Sep. 2025
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We’re then introduced to Louie, a thug who works for a loan shark, threatening and killing people.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In those times, young people who self-described as gangsters fought for territory, and one of their subversive acts was to tag the walls of the city with the verses of cumbia songs.—
Karla Gachet,
NPR,
3 Oct. 2025
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The gangster drama began airing on BBC Two in the UK in 2013, and debuted on Netflix a year later.—
Nancy Tartaglione,
Deadline,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The show portrays Watkins introducing Gein to the story of Ilse Koch, a real-life Holocaust war criminal.—
JR Radcliffe,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
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On Tuesday, a total of 300 federal agents stormed a South Side apartment building that Department of Homeland Security officials say harbored criminals.—
Laura Daniella Sepulveda,
AZCentral.com,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Currently, Wiig is in her villain era.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
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With Ka-young’s help, Iblis is able to destroy the Flower of Eternal Life, which had allowed Khalid to live forever (at least until this point), and the villain fades to dust.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There, Pat, Willa, and an assassin follow one another across terrain that bucks and dips like a cartoon water hose.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Oct. 2025
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Are assassins like Kirk’s killer simply pathological outliers among agitated but otherwise self-restrained populations?—
Ron Barrett,
The Conversation,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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What a perfect opportunity for the island’s shoe bandit to strike again!—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
1 Oct. 2025
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The bandit takes the pair into Shaybani territory, where he is treated with suspicion, to the extent that he is considered a traitor and condemned to die.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gangbanger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gangbanger. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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