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
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Recent Examples of gorilla
The Federal Reserve has emerged as the 800-pound gorilla in the legal fight over President Trump’s firings of agency leaders traditionally independent from the White House.
—
Ella Lee, The Hill, 28 May 2025
Photo : Courtesy of Doli Lodge Canoe River Track Gorillas in the Congo Basin
The mountain gorillas of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, Africa’s gorilla-tracking epicenter, see almost 100 tourists per day trampling around their turf.
—Chris Schalkx, Robb Report, 15 May 2025
Native Eye Travel’s gorilla trekking tour in Dzanga Sangha Reserve starts at Yaounde in Cameroon to avoid any routes that run through potentially problematic areas in the Central African Republic.
—Emese MacZko, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
Fifty-one years ago, after trying out Zorro, Superman and gorilla costumes, Angus Young took a suggestion from his sister, borrowed her son’s school uniform and wore it onstage.
—Steve Knopper, Billboard, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gorilla
Ella Lee, The Hill, 28 May 2025
Photo : Courtesy of Doli Lodge Canoe River Track Gorillas in the Congo Basin
The mountain gorillas of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, Africa’s gorilla-tracking epicenter, see almost 100 tourists per day trampling around their turf.
—Chris Schalkx, Robb Report, 15 May 2025
Native Eye Travel’s gorilla trekking tour in Dzanga Sangha Reserve starts at Yaounde in Cameroon to avoid any routes that run through potentially problematic areas in the Central African Republic.
—Emese MacZko, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
Fifty-one years ago, after trying out Zorro, Superman and gorilla costumes, Angus Young took a suggestion from his sister, borrowed her son’s school uniform and wore it onstage.
—Steve Knopper, Billboard, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gorilla
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gorilla
Noun
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Ultra Man is sort of Lex's thug and is pretty powerful.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
19 June 2025
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This will reveal paid fake thugs posing as protesters becoming violent.—
James Rainey,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2025
Noun
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Two of the game’s most brilliant villains have matured into eloquent eulogists.—
Simon Vozick-Levinson,
Rolling Stone,
30 June 2025
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For an industry which has long been treated by the television and film industries as a dirty, dangerous business run by unethical, cartoon-ish villains like J.R. Ewing, such a balanced portrayal is a welcome change, indeed.—
David Blackmon,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2025
Noun
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To make matters even worse, snow pirates, survivalists, bandits, the colonial military force NEVEC, and other factions are fighting over land and resources.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
27 June 2025
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But the project is also right at home for Laika, as it’s set in a secret forest just outside of Laika’s home in Portland and follows a girl whose baby brother is taken into the forest, only to discover an exotic world of talking animals and bandits.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
25 June 2025
Noun
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The all-star cast for the limited series includes Kevin Hart as Chicken Man, the organizer of the party, Taraji P. Henson as his right hand woman Vivian Thomas, Samuel L. Jackson as gangster Frank Moten, and Don Cheadle as J.D. Hudson, the cop trying to figure out who really orchestrated the crime.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
20 June 2025
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Creature With the Atom Brain sees a gangster force a German scientist to reanimate the dead with atomic radiation in order to pull off crimes (recalling both Frankenstein and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, films that fit neatly alongside the zombie genre).—
Daniel Dockery,
Vulture,
18 June 2025
Noun
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In the twilight of her career, Parker still showed flashes of the once baby-haired assassin who shook up the WNBA.—
Anthony De Leon,
Los Angeles Times,
29 June 2025
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The Day of the Jackal follows a professional British assassin called the Jackal (Eddie Redmayne), known only for his ruthless and mysterious methods, and Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch), an MI6 agent intent on hunting him down.—
Ryan Fleming,
Deadline,
19 June 2025
Noun
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With the help of a charming and ethnically diverse array of loveable colleagues, Peralta brings down criminals in entirely bingeable 22-minute chunks.—
Maris Kreizman,
Rolling Stone,
24 June 2025
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According to his campaign website, some of his goals include increasing police presence, protecting undocumented immigrants but deporting violent criminals, taxing the rich, and eliminating waste.—
Emily Chang,
ABC News,
24 June 2025
Noun
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Porch pirates Mail theft in Virginia will soon be a Class 6 felony, which means people caught stealing mail or packages can be punished by imprisonment for one to five years and/or a fine of up to $2,500.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
22 June 2025
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Over the centuries, Spanish conquistadors brought horses whose descendants now roam wild; the pirate Blackbeard fought his final sea battle near Ocracoke Island in the south; and the Wright Brothers took their first successful flight.—
Kate Lewis,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
Noun
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Under the hood is a familiar 375-hp, 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 and eight-speed automatic.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
22 June 2025
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But under the hood, what the model actually does is generate a probability distribution over all possibilities for the next token.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gorilla.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gorilla. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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