plug-ugly

noun

ˈpləg-ˌəg-lē How to pronounce plug-ugly (audio)
Definition of plug-uglynext
as in thug
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-ugly
  1. thug
  2. villain
  3. criminal
  4. gangster
  5. pirate
  6. assassin
  7. hoodlum
  8. bandit
Noun
  • Threatening to limit mail-in voting, adding ridiculous ID requirements, or staging thugs at polling places are other possible ways to convince you to stay home.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 6 July 2026
  • To be sure, the thugs of Hamas and Hezbollah committed a horrific massacre of young Jewish civilians enjoying a music festival on October 7, 2023.
    — DP Opinion, Denver Post, 6 July 2026
Definition of thug
Noun
  • The New Zealander drew international acclaim for roles as gruff loners and unhinged villains.
    — Harrison Smith, Washington Post, 13 July 2026
  • Neill played dashing heroes, sinister villains (see The Piano), authority figures, famous figures, and father figures.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 July 2026
Definition of villain
Noun
  • Data that appears to be compliance information to a regulator can appear to be a target list to a criminal.
    — Susie Violet Ward, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • The Colorado attorney general oversees more than 700 attorneys and staff and manages legal manners spanning consumer protection, civil rights, criminal, water, constitutional and environmental law.
    — Jesse Sarles, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Definition of criminal
Noun
  • Madonna was stopped dead in her tracks by the strapping 30-year-old auteur of the nouvelle vague gangster movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, an eye-popping directorial debut.
    — Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 5 July 2026
  • Yet Francis Ford Coppola's original sprawling gangster epic is undeniable.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 1 July 2026
Definition of gangster
Noun
  • There aren’t enough ships to protect the reopening trade routes from pirates.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 July 2026
  • Those have largely been conducted by pirate groups in Somalia.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 6 July 2026
Definition of pirate
Noun
  • Julie has returned her old ways as an assassin, whilst navigating an equally perilous dating scene, while Edward’s honeymoon with Kayla (Shalom Brune-Franklin) doesn’t go quite as planned.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 July 2026
  • In Ride or Die, Waddingham plays Judith Burton, who lives a double life as an assassin.
    — Lexi Lane, PEOPLE, 5 July 2026
Definition of assassin
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of hoodlum
Noun
  • Instead, most are romantic stories about young lovers separated by fate, and the rest are swashbuckling adventures full of bandits and pirates.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 June 2026
  • Fantastical adventures ensue as the pair encounter a mysterious woman, Alexandra, who has lost her son, along with coyotes, bandits, and some pretty big secrets.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 29 June 2026
Definition of bandit
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

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

Cite this Entry

“Plug-ugly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plug-ugly. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

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