Thesaurus results for ROUGHNECKS

roughnecks

noun

plural of roughneck

as in thugs

a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang a group of roughnecks like to hang out at the roadhouse and harass people

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of roughnecks The show focuses on roughnecks and billionaires in West Texas who are trying to get rich as the oil industry continues to take over the state. — Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 9 May 2026 But this is a look at the more dynamic version, like the roughnecks out in the patch and the offices in Dallas and Fort Worth. — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 17 Nov. 2025 Local agency Legacy Casting is putting out a call for real-life oil and gas workers, or roughnecks, to appear in the show. — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for roughnecks

Noun

Shortly after his big win, he’s attacked by two thugs in a parking garage.

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 30 July 2026
The night of the title fight, Duke is attacked by two thugs who smash his hand with a hammer and, in the ensuing chaos, kill somebody close to him.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2026

Definition of thugs

Noun

North Carolina politician says Democrats are coddling criminals Records also list a September 2025 simple-assault charge and a March 2025 charge of assault on a female.

— Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026
Even if Anna Pigeon carries a gun with cuffs, as real-life law enforcement rangers do, there's much more to the job and character than chasing down criminals.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

Badly in Love manages to break through because the cast of men and women looking for true love are from the Japanese yankii subculture—juvenile delinquents, motorcycle gangsters, troubled women, and more.

— K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 31 July 2026
Remember all those fake memoirs from the early 2000s, by all those writers pretending to be addicts and gangsters and Holocaust survivors?

— James Parker, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026

Definition of gangsters

Noun

Armed groups, known as bandits in Nigeria, regularly carry out raids and kidnappings for ransom in the northwest and north-central parts of the country.

— ABC News, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
The area was wild and uninhabited, but the bandits moved through it with practiced ease.

— Alexis Okeowo, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of bandits

Noun

But the island was also a haven for outcasts and pirates and merchants, from across Europe and the Levant and beyond, who came to the Caribbean to seek their fortunes or to help grow the fortunes of others.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026
The voyage started with 350 captives; almost all died or were kidnapped a second time by pirates.

— USA Today, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of pirates

Noun

Still, bonus points for casting Chukwudi Iwuji as the menacing High Evolutionary, one of the oddest and most unsettling Marvel villains in recent memory.

— EW Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026
This trend suggests a need for new, effective villains to balance the roster.

— Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of villains

Noun

In that version, the character is played by Joe Don Baker, the great character actor known for playing toughs in films like Walking Tall (1973) and Fletch (1985).

— Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
So, while Rue and Maddy are confabbing over milkshakes in a diner, Alamo sends Rue off for a drive with his two toughs, G (Marshawn Lynch) and the icy Bishop (Darrell Britt-Gibson).

— Marlow Stern, Variety, 11 May 2026

Definition of toughs

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roughness

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“Roughnecks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughnecks. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of roughnecks

noun

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