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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 gorillas
Since the gorillas move across a wide area, the trek is unpredictable in length and terrain.
—
Holden Frith, TheWeek, 9 Jan. 2026
The birth, which is the first of 2026, brings the Bageni family of gorillas to 59 members, which is the largest in the park.
—Kirsty Hatcher, PEOPLE, 8 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
Communal meals of fresh regional ingredients and flavors encourage conversation and stories about silverbacks who sat close and curious baby gorillas who tumbled.
—Natalie Preddie, Travel + Leisure, 24 Nov. 2025
Kabarebe said that since 2018 the militias had staged dozens of attacks in the parks where the gorillas live.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Grodd is a member of a highly-intelligent society of gorillas that gained psychic powers and other abilities after coming into contact with an alien spaceship.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025
The two gorillas were tentatively named Samson and Sambo, and a contest was held to suggest new names for the pair.
—Elaine Rewolinski, jsonline.com, 22 Oct. 2025
Nkuringo Safaris offers a 10-day Great Apes Photography safari that includes gorillas, chimps, and golden monkeys in some of Uganda’s national parks.
—Essence, 20 Oct. 2025
Holden Frith, TheWeek, 9 Jan. 2026
The birth, which is the first of 2026, brings the Bageni family of gorillas to 59 members, which is the largest in the park.
—Kirsty Hatcher, PEOPLE, 8 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
Communal meals of fresh regional ingredients and flavors encourage conversation and stories about silverbacks who sat close and curious baby gorillas who tumbled.
—Natalie Preddie, Travel + Leisure, 24 Nov. 2025
Kabarebe said that since 2018 the militias had staged dozens of attacks in the parks where the gorillas live.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Grodd is a member of a highly-intelligent society of gorillas that gained psychic powers and other abilities after coming into contact with an alien spaceship.
—Joe Otterson, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025
The two gorillas were tentatively named Samson and Sambo, and a contest was held to suggest new names for the pair.
—Elaine Rewolinski, jsonline.com, 22 Oct. 2025
Nkuringo Safaris offers a 10-day Great Apes Photography safari that includes gorillas, chimps, and golden monkeys in some of Uganda’s national parks.
—Essence, 20 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gorillas
Noun
-
Even the Democrat hacks at Massport understood the insanity of dumping hundreds more of these thugs into one of the few functioning hubs of commercial activity left in New England.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
28 Nov. 2025
-
Of course, Sarah and her mom continue to believe that God is on their side, even after the family home is attacked by oil company thugs and a reliable ally winds up on the wrong end of a shotgun.—
Joe Leydon,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The first thing to do is to reduce the damage to the United States, the inflow of guns and criminals and immigrants and drugs into the United States, the destabilizing of a key part of the Western Hemisphere.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Also, place freezes with ChexSystems and the National Consumer Telecom and Utilities Exchange to stop criminals from opening bank accounts, phone lines, or utility services in his name.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Sorkin finds no heroes but also no villains.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
11 Jan. 2026
-
There’s also a massive leg lumbering in the distance which could be a Sentinel, the gigantic, mutant-hunting robots that are some of X-Men’s most iconic villains.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The gangsters grew powerful running liquor during Prohibition.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Beset by gangs and guns, the Haçienda faltered in the ’90s despite clever-sounding schemes such as replacing the club’s security with the gangsters themselves.—
Andrew Holter,
The Atlantic,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The robbery lasted less than seven minutes, as the bandits used a truck with an extendable ladder to cut through a window on a second-floor balcony, according to police.—
Mason Leath,
ABC News,
27 Dec. 2025
-
In return, a lord provided his peasants with protection from bandits or invaders.—
Bobbi Sutherland,
The Conversation,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
December is the busiest time of year for package deliveries and for the porch pirates who steal them.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
31 Dec. 2025
-
The Houthis are now supporting Somali pirates to again raid ships in the Indian Ocean.—
Paul Bedard,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
When a father seeking vengeance, an American operative experiencing a string of bad luck, and several independent assassins hailing from around the world all end up on the same bullet train bound for Kyoto, the results are violent — and the survivors minimal.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Dec. 2025
-
The situation gets more complex with the addition of a bunch of oddball assassins trying to murder the neighbor, plus other mysterious and shady types like his former associate Laverne (Weaver).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
11 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Changes in the law regarding youth offenders and subsequent court rulings led a San Diego Superior Court judge on Tuesday to find that Williams fit the criteria to be resentenced.—
Teri Figueroa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Tierney blasted the parole system's handling of repeat violent offenders.—
Carolyn Gusoff,
CBS News,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gorillas.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gorillas. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share