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gorilla

noun

gə-ˈri-lə How to pronounce gorilla (audio)
Definition of gorillanext
as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang the loan shark sent a couple of gorillas to "convince" him to pay up

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 gorilla King Kong was supposed to be a real giant gorilla, not a cartoon one. — James Grebey, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026 Conversations range from meme prompts regarding the deadliness of hawks versus gorillas to summer internships. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026 The novelty vending machines mold souvenir sculptures — a train car, a gorilla, a bust of Abraham Lincoln — in under a minute, filling a two-sided mold with hot plastic, then hollowing it out with compressed air. — Juliet Bennett Rylah, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026 About half the participants never noticed the gorilla because their attention was focused on counting passes rather than everything else happening around them. — Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for gorilla
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gorilla
  1. thug
  2. villain
  3. bandit
  4. gangster
  5. criminal
  6. assassin
  7. pirate
  8. hood
Noun
  • That a Christian man was responsible for the devastation in Oklahoma City certainly didn’t matter to the thugs who terrorized a Muslim woman there, nearly seven months pregnant, by attacking her home, breaking her windows, screaming religious slurs.
    — Reshma Memon Yaqub, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
  • On a cold night in November 2011, in a field outside Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, a gang of thugs stormed a Soviet scientific research institute, beat and humiliated the staff and burned the place to the ground.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of thug
Noun
  • Her bulging eyes, her piercing shrieks, her casual yet immaculately articulate cruelty all come together to form a cartoonish villain who’s also a commanding delight.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The implicit villain in that critique was Senator Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who refused to go along with changing the Senate rules, dooming many of Biden’s legislative ambitions.
    — Isaac Arnsdorf, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of villain
Noun
  • When a wealthy, royal woman is attacked by bandits, the two men save her and are welcomed to the castle as valiant knights.
    — Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Elsewhere, a gang of highway bandits cons an unsuspecting family into stopping by the roadside, only to violently kill them, burn their bodies, and strip their car for parts.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of bandit
Noun
  • Though Pachinko featured more angels than demons, Lee still convincingly inhabited Koh Hansu, the gangster and groomer.
    — Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Born Again followed Fisk who goes from being a gangster to a NYC autocrat mayor.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of gangster
Noun
  • Victims who clicked those ads were redirected to fake banking websites controlled by the criminals, according to the DOJ.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Trump, his family and his wealthy cronies are criminals spending taxpayers’ money and taking it with their underhanded deals with our enemies.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of criminal
Noun
  • Its tale of a Zainichi assassin (an ethnic Korean in Japan), as well as fraying political tensions between the North and South, take its characters far and wide, in a follow-the-money treasure hunt dangerously close to the halls of power.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Some earlier assassins expected it of themselves, canceling plots that would have killed bystanders.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of assassin
Noun
  • The series follows the exploits of Luffy and his pirate crew in their search for the eponymous One Piece.
    — Theara Coleman, TheWeek, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Their journey brings them into conflict with pirates seeking control of the sacred water on which their community depends.
    — Ed Meza, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of pirate
Noun
  • The cut is being pitched as a seasonal transition piece for windy, rainy spring or fall days, when a hood feels like too much but an open lapel is not enough.
    — Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 21 Sep. 2026
  • However the police video footage shows officers left Saetern laying flat on his back in a spit hood and unattended for 10 minutes— clear violations of national policies regarding those tools, a police expert said.
    — Theresa Clift, Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of hood

Browse Nearby Words

gorgons
gorilla
gorillas
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gorilla.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gorilla. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on gorilla

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about gorilla

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