as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
London bobbies clearing the streets of hooligans
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hooligan
Today, Nazi political power exists via a disparate array of soccer hooligans, deluded commentators, and criminal gangs of limited power.
—
Tom Rogan, The Washington Examiner, 26 Sep. 2025
Yet the flag’s prominence during episodes of hooligan violence in the 1970s and ’80s left it with a more aggressive reputation.
—Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Sep. 2025
The film stars Boon as Tommy, a 19-year-old hooligan who wakes up from an all-night bender in the basement of a strange suburban home, bound with a chain around his neck.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
On the same day as the Bradford fire, a spectator was killed during one of the worst hooligan fights at a game between Birmingham and Leeds.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hooligan
Tom Rogan, The Washington Examiner, 26 Sep. 2025
Yet the flag’s prominence during episodes of hooligan violence in the 1970s and ’80s left it with a more aggressive reputation.
—Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Sep. 2025
The film stars Boon as Tommy, a 19-year-old hooligan who wakes up from an all-night bender in the basement of a strange suburban home, bound with a chain around his neck.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
On the same day as the Bradford fire, a spectator was killed during one of the worst hooligan fights at a game between Birmingham and Leeds.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hooligan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hooligan
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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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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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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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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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 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
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But as Duterte’s father, Vicente, had increasingly gravitated toward Malacañang, his son hung out with the family bodyguards—and crafted the persona of a rough-talking bugoy, or hoodlum, in his native Bisayan tongue.—
Sean Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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All of the daring and courage of the Golden Age films about cowboys, fighters, pilots, and pirates is distilled into the score for the first Indiana Jones movie.—
Alex Galbraith,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Feb. 2026
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Led by the energetic Danny, the show take viewers on adventures to find pirate treasure, pretend to be superheroes, and fly like an airplane.—
Kara Nesvig,
Parents,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hooligan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hooligan. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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