as in brigand
a man especially in the past who stopped travelers on roads and robbed them
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Recent Examples of highwayman
Shortly before midnight on May 23, 1798, highwaymen just north of Dublin intercepted and set on fire a mail coach headed to Belfast.
—
Joseph Patrick Kelly, The Conversation, 20 May 2025
The sybaritic highwayman Macheath maneuvers between a cutthroat capitalist milieu (Mr. and Mrs. Peachum) and a corrupt police force (led by Tiger Brown) while seducing daughters from both worlds (Polly Peachum and Lucy Brown).
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
Dee is in his Springheel Jack costume, since London bobbies of that era would rather work with a mythical highwayman than a real Chinese man.
—Yvonne Zipp, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Apr. 2025
In the irreverent retelling of the 18th-century highwayman’s life, Turpin is the most famous but least likely of robbers, whose success is defined mostly by his charm, showmanship, and great hair.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2025
Written by Fielding, Richard Naylor and Jon Brittain, the series followed the contemptuous life of the 18th-century highwayman, known in York, England, as a thief, poacher and killer but whose exploits have been widely romanticized in modern culture.
—Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Jan. 2025
Dick Turpin was an English robber and highwayman whose criminal activities gained him notoriety in the early eighteenth century.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 14 Jan. 2025
The group gets further assistance from a charming aristocratic dandy/secret highwayman named Charles Devereaux (Frank Dillane).
—Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024
He is captured by Bedouin highwaymen, who plan to rob him.
—Steve Hindy, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2015
Joseph Patrick Kelly, The Conversation, 20 May 2025
The sybaritic highwayman Macheath maneuvers between a cutthroat capitalist milieu (Mr. and Mrs. Peachum) and a corrupt police force (led by Tiger Brown) while seducing daughters from both worlds (Polly Peachum and Lucy Brown).
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
Dee is in his Springheel Jack costume, since London bobbies of that era would rather work with a mythical highwayman than a real Chinese man.
—Yvonne Zipp, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Apr. 2025
In the irreverent retelling of the 18th-century highwayman’s life, Turpin is the most famous but least likely of robbers, whose success is defined mostly by his charm, showmanship, and great hair.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2025
Written by Fielding, Richard Naylor and Jon Brittain, the series followed the contemptuous life of the 18th-century highwayman, known in York, England, as a thief, poacher and killer but whose exploits have been widely romanticized in modern culture.
—Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Jan. 2025
Dick Turpin was an English robber and highwayman whose criminal activities gained him notoriety in the early eighteenth century.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 14 Jan. 2025
The group gets further assistance from a charming aristocratic dandy/secret highwayman named Charles Devereaux (Frank Dillane).
—Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024
He is captured by Bedouin highwaymen, who plan to rob him.
—Steve Hindy, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2015
Recent Examples of Synonyms for highwayman
Noun
-
Their stories live on in Sardinian lore with an almost mythical quality, the brigands admired for their intractability.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
7 May 2026
-
As did most of the 4,500 caught in the region as feds traveled willy-nilly originally from their base at Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, like roving bands of masked brigands seeking human loot.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Sardinian bandits sometimes fought back with their own sense of justice, settling matters through raids, kidnappings, and violence.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
7 May 2026
-
Residents of the Altamonte Springs neighborhood of Spring Oaks reported finding human feces on vehicles, mailboxes and in yards before surveillance video pointed the finger at her as the crapping bandit.—
Sean Joseph OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The big pirate ship on her head.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
10 May 2026
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Although the flowers are quite lovely and attract native bees and minute pirate bugs (an insect that feeds on thrips, spider mites, and aphids), plants can become weedy if allowed to set seed.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
9 May 2026
Noun
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English actress Comer is probably best known for her role as sociopathic assassin Villanelle on BBC America’s Killing Eve, which earned her an Emmy and BAFTA TV Award.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
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As a refresher, the epic Yellowstone finale saw the Dutton family finally uncover how patriarch John Dutton was killed by an assassin hired by Jamie’s (Wes Bentley) girlfriend.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
When unhoused people are treated as criminals, they are pushed into an identity of exclusion rather than belonging.—
Shianne LeClaire,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
-
Set in Gaza in 2007, and following the misadventures of a student (Nader Abd Alhay) and restaurant owner and petty criminal (Majd Eid), the picture premiered in Un Certain Regard last year and won the Best Director prize.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
And outlaw lovers in a wild and combustible romance!—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 May 2026
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But according to federal officials, the Punjabi Devils were an outlaw gang with ties to the Hells Angels, whose members often wore patches with an outline of Punjab, a region that includes northern India and central eastern Pakistan, and a turbaned skull.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
Today, Moscow is glamorous but sealed off and duller than the 1990s desperado days.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Most are not desperados on the run.—
William Morris,
Des Moines Register,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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My office will continue to work alongside law enforcement partners like the Antioch Police Department to hold armed offenders accountable and pursue justice on behalf of all those harmed.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
-
Lawrence Reed is a lifetime offender who was put on an ankle monitor.—
Michael Tobin,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Highwayman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highwayman. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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