as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
the short, violence-filled life of an inner-city gangsta
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gangsta
The tough, gangsta image that defined late ’80s and early ’90s hip-hop had now been sanded down into something more aspirational and decidedly capitalist.
—
Kyndall Cunningham, Vox, 12 May 2025
The Geto Boys used expletives and a lot of bravado, but the core of their message is that a ‘gangsta’ is unafraid to be themselves, and confident in their experience.
—Angela Andaloro, People.com, 9 May 2025
According to Shaw, this is exactly what happened when Tupac later moved to Los Angeles and fully embraced the elevated gangsta image.
—Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Things just ain’t the same for Dre and Snoop, the gangsta-rap godfathers whose rule-breaking crassness and scandalous storytelling helped coax Time Warner to dump its piece of Interscope Records in 1995 under pressure from Senator Bob Dole.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for gangsta
Kyndall Cunningham, Vox, 12 May 2025
The Geto Boys used expletives and a lot of bravado, but the core of their message is that a ‘gangsta’ is unafraid to be themselves, and confident in their experience.
—Angela Andaloro, People.com, 9 May 2025
According to Shaw, this is exactly what happened when Tupac later moved to Los Angeles and fully embraced the elevated gangsta image.
—Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Things just ain’t the same for Dre and Snoop, the gangsta-rap godfathers whose rule-breaking crassness and scandalous storytelling helped coax Time Warner to dump its piece of Interscope Records in 1995 under pressure from Senator Bob Dole.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for gangsta
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gangsta
Noun
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This haunting film was also his first collaboration with Hellboy’s Ron Perlman, who plays a thug out to get the beetle for his rich uncle.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
17 Oct. 2025
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In The Big Lebowski, thugs mistake the titular slacker (Bridges) for the wealthy Jeffrey Lebowski, sending him on a wild investigation with his pal Walter (John Goodman) into a ransom plot involving Lebowski’s young wife (Tara Reid).—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The other is about Chicago-style gangsters circa 1929.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
20 Oct. 2025
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Yes, there are gangster films, the crime movies, and then there’s The Wolf of Wall Street, which is a really profound piece of work.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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To suggest that another candidate’s supporters are criminals — particularly when that candidate is, by all measures, poised to win at least a plurality of votes in the city — does not seem like a recipe for earning New Yorkers’ support.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Binance also lacked protocols — standard for financial services companies — to report transactions for money laundering risks, according to the Justice Department, and employees were well aware that such an oversight would invite criminals to the platform.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Yet if the Dodgers are to be cast as villains from the Book of Samuel, Toronto brought to the fight far more than pebbles.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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The family moved to Hollywood 10 years later, and Gene Lockhart worked steadily as a character actor, usually in avuncular roles, sometimes as a villain.—
NPR,
NPR,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gangsta.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gangsta. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
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