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plug-uglies

noun

plural of plug-ugly
as in thugs
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang sent over a couple of hulking plug-uglies to rough up the store owner

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plug-uglies
  1. thugs
  2. criminals
  3. villains
  4. offenders
  5. pirates
  6. assassins
  7. gangsters
  8. bandits
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
  • Different characters — villains and helpers — pop up along his journey, as well as different tools and weapons.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
  • But Zidar and Zwick are more interested in understanding them than in portraying them as heroes or villains.
    — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of villains
Noun
  • The Police Department has cracked down on speeding and street racing in recent years using drones and other technology to nab offenders, Oldoerp said.
    — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Five offenders entered a Green Oaks business early Wednesday and used crowbars and sledgehammers to break into gaming machines, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
    — Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of offenders
Noun
  • Within hours, their yacht vanishes, Matt is abducted by a gang of ruthless pirates led by Langbore (Copley), and paradise becomes a trap.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Knights in shining armor, pirates and princesses grace the grounds of Sleepy Hollow for the annual Renaissance Faire in Des Moines.
    — Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of pirates
Noun
  • Some earlier assassins expected it of themselves, canceling plots that would have killed bystanders.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The settler assassins were arrested by the police and as usual released within a few hours.
    — David Shulman, The New York Review of Books, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of assassins
Noun
  • British gangsters colliding with the Italian Mafia just feels so right for our world.
    — Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Live actors would appear throughout, sometimes as gangsters in a noir crime movie, and sometimes as Wild West cowboys.
    — Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of gangsters
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
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.

Browse Nearby Words

plugs (up)
plug-uglies
plug-ugly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Plug-uglies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plug-uglies. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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