as in thugs
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 gorillas
Goodall, Fossey and Galdikas showed that chimpanzees make tools and wage political struggles, that gorillas live in complex family groups, and that orangutans raise their young with a patience and investment that rivals that of humans.
—
Mireya Mayor, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2026
Globally, the mountain gorilla population is estimated at 1,063 living in the wild, with some 350 gorillas recorded in Virunga in 2021, according to park authorities.
—CBS News, 26 Mar. 2026
Efforts to find a bouba-kiki effect in great apes like chimpanzees and gorillas — animals closely related to humans — have come up empty.
—Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 19 Feb. 2026
While our morning spent with the gorillas alone was nothing short of extraordinary, there is more to savor back at Bisate Reserve.
—Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026
This silverback, Kavuyo, was being groomed by a female while six other gorillas were munching on leaves in the treetops.
—Christina Liao, Vogue, 14 Jan. 2026
The discovery of language skills in great apes — various gorillas and chimps learned substantial vocabularies in sign language or symbols — and that of tool use across the animal kingdom have, over the years, chipped away at the idea that there is any single ingredient that makes humans unique.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 13 Jan. 2026
Since the gorillas move across a wide area, the trek is unpredictable in length and terrain.
—Holden Frith, TheWeek, 9 Jan. 2026
Pictures released by the park’s press service showed the 22-year-old Mafuko holding the two baby gorillas, sitting on the ground and partly obscured by branches with green leaves.
—Reuters, NBC news, 8 Jan. 2026
Mireya Mayor, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2026
Globally, the mountain gorilla population is estimated at 1,063 living in the wild, with some 350 gorillas recorded in Virunga in 2021, according to park authorities.
—CBS News, 26 Mar. 2026
Efforts to find a bouba-kiki effect in great apes like chimpanzees and gorillas — animals closely related to humans — have come up empty.
—Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 19 Feb. 2026
While our morning spent with the gorillas alone was nothing short of extraordinary, there is more to savor back at Bisate Reserve.
—Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026
This silverback, Kavuyo, was being groomed by a female while six other gorillas were munching on leaves in the treetops.
—Christina Liao, Vogue, 14 Jan. 2026
The discovery of language skills in great apes — various gorillas and chimps learned substantial vocabularies in sign language or symbols — and that of tool use across the animal kingdom have, over the years, chipped away at the idea that there is any single ingredient that makes humans unique.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 13 Jan. 2026
Since the gorillas move across a wide area, the trek is unpredictable in length and terrain.
—Holden Frith, TheWeek, 9 Jan. 2026
Pictures released by the park’s press service showed the 22-year-old Mafuko holding the two baby gorillas, sitting on the ground and partly obscured by branches with green leaves.
—Reuters, NBC news, 8 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gorillas
Noun
-
No government masked thugs shooting down our neighbors in the streets.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Suddenly Odin gets a call telling him Korps leader Attila (Eili Harboe) and her thugs are on their way to finish the job.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Cyber criminals linked to Iran have accessed FBI Director Kash Patel's personal email account, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
-
That convenience also gives criminals a perfect disguise.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But CFCs, the solution to an earlier problem, turned out to be villains in disguise.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
-
These measures are politically popular and ultra-wealthy Big Tech chiefs are easy villains.—
Catherine Thorbecke,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
They get captured by Hungarian gangsters and have to fight (and kill) their way out of an inn run by a shady former dance prodigy (Uma Thurman).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Prosecutors used details from the home takeover to argue for a lengthy prison term, describing how Serrano and other gangsters took advantage of an 84-year-old woman who had dementia.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Set against mountainous landscapes and rural lakes, the story follows a wandering swordsman who is falsely accused of stealing a shipment of gold and must unravel a web of intrigue involving bandits, palace guards and corrupt officials while attempting to clear his name.—
Lin Ying-Hsuan,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Alongside attacks by bandits, Nigeria is also plagued by an insurgency fought by the Boko Haram extremist group and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Tim Brinkhof The Past Julius Caesar was once captured by pirates.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Themed weeks include Harry Potter, Star Wars and pirates.—
Jessie Dax-Setkus,
Oc Register,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Mirrors were such a precious commodity in the heyday of the Venetian Republic that the assassins were dispatched to, well, dispatch any defectors who left La Serenissima and tried to take the secrets of creating that mesmerizing, reflective surface along with them.—
Mark Ellwood,
Robb Report,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Consider Bobbi, one of the assassins sent north to find Armando.—
Michael Snyder,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Holmes qualified for the reduced term under a 2023 rule change allowing first-time offenders to do less time for some non-violent crimes, according to an order issued Thursday by the federal judge who sentenced her in 2022 for defrauding investors in her blood-testing startup.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
And many Democrats see it as an effort to curb more liberal prosecutors who have embraced restorative justice policies, including steering nonviolent offenders away from prison sentences or taking more lax approaches to drug offenses.—
Riley Bunch,
AJC.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gorillas.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gorillas. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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