as in thugs
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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Recent Examples of gangsters
Two sisters with a tragic story are said to linger upstairs at Langston’s Western Wear, and unexplained voices and rattling glassware have been heard at Gabriella’s Italian Grill, a Prohibition-era building with a gangsters and gambling history.
—
Beth Luberecki, USA Today, 11 Oct. 2025
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
Now is the time to push back in defense of free speech – as strongly and as publicly as the gangsters on the left and right are threatening to revoke it.
—Onkar Ghate, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025
Unlike Mare, whose community was cloistered and intimate, Task builds a wider world of dealers, gangsters, and thieves, not always to its benefit.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2025
There’s also a tropical storm circulating, as if the gangsters flew in from the tropics.
—John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
Others are new, building on a genuinely fresh and funny revelation that explains not only a cold open involving yakuza gangsters half a world away in Osaka, but also why this quaint town is sitting on a stash of weaponry big enough to overthrow the governments of several small nations.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2025
Inspired by the colonial Singapore gangsters rulers, four girls, at a modern-day regimented elite secondary school form their own gang cam-recording petty acts of rebellion, led by firebrand freethinking lesbian Choo Xin Yu.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025
The next day, a pair of Russian gangsters, a tall one named Aleksei (Yuri Kolokolnikov) and a short one nicknamed Microbe (Nikita Kukushkin), come by looking for Russ and beat Hank nearly to death.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2025
Beth Luberecki, USA Today, 11 Oct. 2025
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
Now is the time to push back in defense of free speech – as strongly and as publicly as the gangsters on the left and right are threatening to revoke it.
—Onkar Ghate, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025
Unlike Mare, whose community was cloistered and intimate, Task builds a wider world of dealers, gangsters, and thieves, not always to its benefit.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2025
There’s also a tropical storm circulating, as if the gangsters flew in from the tropics.
—John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
Others are new, building on a genuinely fresh and funny revelation that explains not only a cold open involving yakuza gangsters half a world away in Osaka, but also why this quaint town is sitting on a stash of weaponry big enough to overthrow the governments of several small nations.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 9 Sep. 2025
Inspired by the colonial Singapore gangsters rulers, four girls, at a modern-day regimented elite secondary school form their own gang cam-recording petty acts of rebellion, led by firebrand freethinking lesbian Choo Xin Yu.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025
The next day, a pair of Russian gangsters, a tall one named Aleksei (Yuri Kolokolnikov) and a short one nicknamed Microbe (Nikita Kukushkin), come by looking for Russ and beat Hank nearly to death.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gangsters
Noun
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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
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Their neighbor, an older Jewish woman, gets arrested and Nazi thugs brazenly loot her apartment.—
Rabih Alameddine
September 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Flock Safety argues its drone system can act as a deterrent simply by being visible, making criminals think twice before targeting a store.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
11 Oct. 2025
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So those drums can fall into the hands of criminals who then refill them with the cheaper, toxic liquids and pass them off as the pharmaceutical-grade product, selling them to drug manufacturers who are looking to save money on ingredients.—
Gabrielle Emanuel,
NPR,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The tournaments pit heroes like Liu Kang, Raiden, and Sonya Blade against such villains as Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, and Scorpion.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
11 Oct. 2025
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Despite being grouped together with the villains who slashed their way through the ’80s (and, to a lesser extent, the ’90s), Freddy has always been unique.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Over $200 Off NFL Sunday Ticket NFL fans can make out like bandits with the DraftKings Sportsbook welcome offer.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Sep. 2025
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Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern were cast as the bumbling but dogged bandits, Harry and Marv, and Catherine O’Hara brought humor and compassion to the part of Kevin’s mother.—
Tim Greiving,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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First, though, more assassins come for them.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
10 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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The police chief is in bed with mobsters.—
Zephyr Teachout,
The Atlantic,
22 Sep. 2025
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This time, the suspects include mobsters and billionaires, which couldn’t be more New York, actually.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In the Tatsuya Nagamine movie, Z is the name of an admiral who has sworn to destroy all the pirates of the New World, because of the pirates’ dream to have no leader, motivated only by their alliances that uphold the interests of every person and community.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Oct. 2025
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For Larissa Knapp, a 27-year FBI veteran who was hired by an entertainment trade group last year to bolster ACE’s work hunting pirates, the timing could hardly have been better.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gangsters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gangsters. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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