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
And who would be harshing this hooligan’s buzz with a case of reform-minded abduction?
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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.
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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.
Noun
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What begins as a chance to escape the routine of his everyday life quickly spirals into a dangerous gathering of powerful criminals, old enemies, and unresolved loyalties.
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That creates the perfect opening for criminals.
Noun
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The 16 reputed gangsters or aspiring gangsters charged in the indictment range in age from 19 to 24.
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That’s not to say that there aren’t some similarities between the Gotham City gangster in The Penguin and Los Angeles private investigator of Sugar.
Noun
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Toph has to integrate being a Beifong with being this rough, tough earthbender who is the blind bandit.
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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.
Noun
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The immigrant-threat frame offers a quicker villain and a simpler solution to persistent social problems such as violent crime.
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The new production will follow Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo from their comic book origins to becoming global pop culture icons, battling familiar villains along the way.
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.
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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.
Noun
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Kara’s after Krem, too, after the space pirate poisons Krypto the Superdog and has the antidote to save him.
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As a pirate assassin and post-apocalyptic warrior, Krem of the Yellow Hills connects with Aries.
Cite this Entry
“Hooligan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hooligan. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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