as in thugs
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 hooligans
The cries mixed with disturbances, the chants of encouragement with shouts from the police and hooligans.
—
Esteban Campanela, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
Esteban Campanela, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hooligans
Noun
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Minnesotans, not the armed thugs of ICE and the Border Patrol, are brave.—
Adam Serwer,
The Atlantic,
27 Jan. 2026
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Actively inserting yourself into and attempting to stymie federal law enforcement or barging into a church, as some of these thugs did in Minneapolis, is hindering law enforcement and trespassing, respectively.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Immigration and Integration Minister Rasmus Stoklund said 315 foreign criminals from countries outside the European Union had received sentences of more than a year over the last five years but were not expelled.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
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Top police brass nationwide rarely criticize their federal partners, relying on collaboration to investigate gangs, extremist groups and other major criminals — while also counting on millions in funding from Washington each year.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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There may have been some male suitors but never any who were gangsters.—
Nathan Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
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He was freed on supervised release in May 2020, but quickly broke that pledge, chowing down with his fellow Colombo gangsters at the legendary Brennan and Carr restaurant that November to discuss the crime family’s future, and their labor union shakedown scheme.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The authentic Denver and Rio Grande train that has operated at Knott’s since 1952 boasts the highest crime rate in all of Orange County with the notorious Ghost Town bandits robbing every departure from the Calico Square depot.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
21 Jan. 2026
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Whiskey Row celebrates Prescott's Old West history, with saloons once occupied by outlaws and bandits.—
Paige Moore,
AZCentral.com,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Picking winners and losers, heroes and villains, pathways to success and failure, generates excitement for an event and manufactures a sense of urgency for maximal viewing pleasure.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2026
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As the country moves toward the 2026 midterms, the temptation will be to treat our current racial, political, and economic crisis as a sharp break from the past; to search for singular villains; and to imagine that a return to normalcy is just one election away.—
Heather Ann Thompson,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hooligans.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hooligans. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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