Thesaurus results for HOODLUMS

hoodlums

noun

plural of hoodlum

as in thugs

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

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 hoodlums His warning was meant for American eyes and ears at least as much — if not more so — than for the government in Jerusalem that until now has encouraged the hoodlums by tolerating their violence. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026 In the past decade, the leadership of the Kinahan organization has become rich and cosmopolitan, and their life styles have started to resemble those of international businessmen more than of street hoodlums. — Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2026 The first pictures McCullin took were of hoodlums and down-and-outs, subjects that reflected his own hardscrabble background. — Andrew Pulver, Air Mail, 31 Jan. 2026 Aleah and Grasso end up saving Lizzie’s ass and capturing the hoodlums. — Grace Byron, Vulture, 22 Sep. 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodlums

Noun

That a Christian man was responsible for the devastation in Oklahoma City certainly didn’t matter to the thugs who terrorized a Muslim woman there, nearly seven months pregnant, by attacking her home, breaking her windows, screaming religious slurs.

— Reshma Memon Yaqub, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Some of the thugs were actual neo-Nazis, led by real-life Russian fascist Maksim Martsinkevich, who would later be imprisoned for posting racist videos, investigated for murder and, in 2020, found dead in his cell of an apparent suicide.

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of thugs

Noun

Now federal investigators say criminals turned that everyday habit into a way to steal bank logins and drain accounts.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
Trump, his family and his wealthy cronies are criminals spending taxpayers’ money and taking it with their underhanded deals with our enemies.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

When a wealthy, royal woman is attacked by bandits, the two men save her and are welcomed to the castle as valiant knights.

— Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
Elsewhere, a gang of highway bandits cons an unsuspecting family into stopping by the roadside, only to violently kill them, burn their bodies, and strip their car for parts.

— Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of bandits

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“Hoodlums.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodlums. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of hoodlums

noun

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