Thesaurus results for GANGBANGER

gangbanger

noun

ˈgaŋ-ˌbaŋ-ər

Definition of gangbanger

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 gangbanger Wahhh’s career coincided with, and has benefited from, tattoos moving from society’s fringes (military vets, bikers, ex-convicts, gangbangers) into the mainstream and onto the bodies of school teachers, dentists, and maybe the person sitting next to you. — Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2026 Who signed off on gangbanger LaMar Cook being granted access to ship eight pounds of blow directly to Maura’s office suite in Springfield, as well as another 19 pounds of coke to a hotel on the UMass-Amherst campus? — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 29 Nov. 2025 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 The gangbangers allegedly smashed a victim's head open with a glass bottle of tequila, leaving him with severe lacerations to his face and nerve damage. — Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 10 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for gangbanger

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gangbanger

Noun

These low-level thugs typically are not believed to be formally aligned with Iran.

— Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026
Borisov, who broke through as a thug with a poet’s soul in the 2024 Anora, vests Ilya with the same spiritual contours.

— Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of thug

Noun

Certain alleyways were favored for chases and gangster murders.

— Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026
When citizens rioted in 1918 because the prices of essential commodities such as rice had spiralled out of control, gangsters were hired to crack down on the protesters.

— Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of gangster

Noun

Still, a criminal may combine those details with passwords, PINs or other information stolen elsewhere.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Pillay, 85, received the news while attending a forum in Nuremberg, Germany, where the trials of Nazi war criminals helped lay the foundations of international law.

— Stefanie Dazio, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of criminal

Noun

The station is soon invaded by out-of-time baseball stars, fairytale villains, and unseasonal snow, all created by aliens eager to understand the concept of imagination.

— Richard Edwards, Space.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Carrie’s focus is also shifted, with the 2013 version finding Chloe Grace Moretz’s Carrie more akin to an X-Men villain than the traumatized, feverish teen Sissy Spacek played in 1976.

— Alex Zalben, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of villain

Noun

Today in the age of AI, the threats are not just from a lone assassin's bullet but autonomous attack drones.

— Norah O'Donnell, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2026
Based on Nick Harkaway’s novel The Price You Pay, the show follows Jackie Price, a former drug queenpin hunted by seven elite assassins.

— Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of assassin

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 bandit

Browse Nearby Words

gang

gangbanger

gangbangers

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Gangbanger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gangbanger. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of gangbanger

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

zenith

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes