as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
a couple of hoodlums held up the convenience store
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hoodlum
Aleah and Grasso end up saving Lizzie’s ass and capturing the hoodlums.
—
Grace Byron, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025
Whereas the Star Wars sequels woefully misused the actor's talents, this movie puts them center stage, playing one of the teen hoodlums who join forces with their victim to fight off nasty, otherworldly invaders.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 12 Aug. 2025
However, hoodlums and thugs who throw objects at the players give up their rights and should be removed, charged, and possibly jailed.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Aug. 2025
Sir Jimmy Crystal gives deeply unsettling vibes from the get-go, and while his bizarre gang of hoodlums do save Spike’s life, it’s implied that Spike may have wandered into a much worse situation.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hoodlum
Grace Byron, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025
Whereas the Star Wars sequels woefully misused the actor's talents, this movie puts them center stage, playing one of the teen hoodlums who join forces with their victim to fight off nasty, otherworldly invaders.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 12 Aug. 2025
However, hoodlums and thugs who throw objects at the players give up their rights and should be removed, charged, and possibly jailed.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Aug. 2025
Sir Jimmy Crystal gives deeply unsettling vibes from the get-go, and while his bizarre gang of hoodlums do save Spike’s life, it’s implied that Spike may have wandered into a much worse situation.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hoodlum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodlum
Noun
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In a season 3 teaser, Peter saves Suraj Sharma's Jay Batra from some thugs at a soccer stadium.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Feb. 2026
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Foucauld had later left the army to become a Trappist monk and had established himself as a missionary in Tamanrasset, Algeria, in the middle of the Sahara Desert; he was killed there by local thugs in 1916.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The gangster drama began airing on BBC Two in the UK in 2013, and debuted on Netflix a year later.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
19 Feb. 2026
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The sequel finds the notorious gangster back in Birmingham in 1940, racing to save his son.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities.—
Jeff Capellini,
CBS News,
20 Feb. 2026
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His office is more concerned about arresting police officers than prosecuting criminals.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Even the Dodgers, the cartoon villains of spending, kind of sort of have a limit.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
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And Salieri seems more of hybrid creature, as though a villain out of Christopher Marlowe had suddenly been endowed with Shakespearean self-awareness.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The story revolves around Davis, the sort of gentleman bandit who thoughtfully returns his victims’ cell phones before making his departure and who, in the grand tradition of cinematic thieves, is looking to get out of the business after that last big score.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
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Fleeing into the desert with her father, she is hunted by a merciless army and forced to trust a legendary bandit (Mackie) with secrets of his own.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Police have identified a suspect in the heist, though no arrests have been made and investigators are working to nail down exactly how the thief might have been able to access her vehicle keys, authorities said.—
Jakob Rodgers,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
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The thieves didn’t take any of their art, which was a relief, since that’s what is most precious to them.—
Lisa Boone,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hoodlum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodlum. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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