as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
London bobbies clearing the streets of hooligans
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hooligan
And who would be harshing this hooligan’s buzz with a case of reform-minded abduction?
—
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Follows 19-year-old hooligan Tommy (Boon), who revels in a life of drugs, parties and violence.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2026
The activist first came to prominence as co-founder of the English Defense League, a protest organization that vowed opposition to Islam and intermingled with the country’s soccer hooligan scene.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 26 Feb. 2026
Violence in European soccer has subsided; English hooligans now seem almost quaint.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hooligan
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Follows 19-year-old hooligan Tommy (Boon), who revels in a life of drugs, parties and violence.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 6 Mar. 2026
The activist first came to prominence as co-founder of the English Defense League, a protest organization that vowed opposition to Islam and intermingled with the country’s soccer hooligan scene.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 26 Feb. 2026
Violence in European soccer has subsided; English hooligans now seem almost quaint.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hooligan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hooligan
Noun
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Ditto Hugh Jackman’s unerring performance — perhaps his finest dramatic work yet — as a savage, unfeeling thug and unrepentant murderer and thief.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
18 June 2026
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The actions of these thugs, who should be imprisoned for a long while, is the cause of denying real Knicks fans the chance to watch the game communally.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
10 June 2026
Noun
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This makes your accounts much harder to break into, even if a criminal gets control of your phone number.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
19 June 2026
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And historically, denaturalization has been reserved for the most egregious offenders, such as human rights abusers and violent criminals.—
Camilo Montoya-Galvez,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
Noun
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Neither immigrant family should be linked to violent gangsters, of course.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
13 June 2026
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By telling a relatively straightforward story that blends real people from the era of the Gotti Mafia family with imagined characters, Martin Scorsese's dramedy biopic about a kid who falls in love with the gangster life is as even-keeled as anything the director has made.—
Eric Farwell,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 June 2026
Noun
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The tree is said to have sheltered Robin Hood, the legendary 13th-century bandit who stole from the rich and gave to the poor and took refuge in the forest when being pursued by the sheriff of Nottingham.—
Brian Melley,
Los Angeles Times,
22 June 2026
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The tree is said to have sheltered Robin Hood, the legendary 13th-century bandit who stole from the rich and gave to the poor and took refuge in the forest when being pursued by the sheriff of Nottingham.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 June 2026
Noun
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Her bone-chilling performance earned her the MTV Movie Award for best villain, beating out the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis, Mike Myers, Willem Dafoe and Colin Farrell in her category.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
17 June 2026
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This was my villain origin story.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
17 June 2026
Noun
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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
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The Knesset recently legalized the death penalty for Arabs who murder Jews, but not for the hoodlum Israeli settlers who have been killing West Bank residents to seize their land.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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There's even some sympathy for the vengeful pirate character.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
22 June 2026
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Tyland may have gotten Triarchy pirate Admiral Sharako Lohar on Team Green’s side, but at his core this man is a coward.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
19 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hooligan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hooligan. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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