Thesaurus results for GANGSTER

gangster

noun

ˈgaŋ-stər

Definition of gangster

as in thug

a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang Al Capone remains one of the most notorious gangsters in American history

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 gangster Robb more recently played gangster Meyer Lansky’s daughter, Anne, in the biopic Lansky (2021) and starred in the acclaimed action thriller Rebel Ridge (2024). — Danny Horn, Entertainment Weekly, 14 July 2026 It a strange, mystical Bond movie, that’s part an attempt at Blacksploitation and part about Harlem gangsters, Caribbean drug farming, and voodoo-practicing witch doctors. — Literary Hub, 13 July 2026 Bouaddi was born into an aspirational family in Creil — a town of around 36,000 people in northern France, around an hour’s drive from Paris, and known chiefly as being where gangster and jailbreaker Redoine Faid is from. — Tom Williams, New York Times, 9 July 2026 Sangha said that gangsters intimidating immigrants in the Central Valley is far more prevalent than reported. — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for gangster

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gangster

Noun

In the big screen take of Clayface, Hagen is a matinee idol on the rise, but his face gets slashed by thugs.

— Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 23 July 2026
New Netflix exclusive The Debt Collector stars popular leading man Nadech Kugimiya as Num, a former hired thug who gets out of prison with just weeks to live.

— K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 17 July 2026

Definition of thug

Noun

The detective-heroines (and especially the actress-detectives) in this canon are careful about how performance might be extended to social duplicity, dishonesty, and fraud—but the lady criminals of Victorian detective fiction cross this line easily.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 July 2026
From 1873 to 1991, the island served as Costa Rica’s principal penitentiary, where some of the country’s worst criminals were sent to serve often short and torturous sentences.

— Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 24 July 2026

Definition of criminal

Noun

The Athletic’s hockey staff came together to identify the definitive on-ice villain for every team in the NHL.

— Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 27 July 2026
Em details how Alan Rickman who played Hans Gruber, one of the most iconic villains in film history, offered director John McTiernan several key ideas that improved the film.

— Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

Definition of villain

Noun

People in northwest Nigeria are caught between regular attacks by bandit groups who specialize in kidnapping for ransom and Islamist militants who have been expanding their territory.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 July 2026
Instead, most are romantic stories about young lovers separated by fate, and the rest are swashbuckling adventures full of bandits and pirates.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 June 2026

Definition of bandit

Noun

By the time Cameron came up with the idea for The Terminator — about a robot assassin sent back in time to kill the mother of humanity’s unborn savior — Wisher was growing more interested in screenwriting.

— Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 July 2026
Their characters — a notorious assassin and a lawyer — race across Europe, balancing brutal fights and a messy, decades-long friendship.

— Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026

Definition of assassin

Noun

Fortunately, Dusse lightens the lawyer’s spiral into his mobster client’s dark underworld with wry humor and pointed skewering of both the wellness industry and the criminal legal profession.

— The Know, Denver Post, 5 July 2026
Famous former inmates include mobster Whitey Bulger and, rather surprisingly, Henry David Thoreau.

— Andrew Sessa, Robb Report, 2 July 2026

Definition of mobster

Browse Nearby Words

gangstas

gangster

gangsterism

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Gangster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gangster. Accessed 29 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of gangster

noun

Example Sentences

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