as in thugs
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
rowdies had overtaken the neighborhood and were threatening people on the street
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rowdies
Noun
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He’s beaten by thugs with a crowbar for an unfortunate outburst, exploited by neighbors in the council estate and arrested, all because people don’t understand Tourette syndrome.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026 -
Mayor vows to catch 'thugs who did this' Baton Rouge Mayor Sid Edwards promised that law enforcement will catch the people responsible for the violence at the mall.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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However, Connecticut Citizens Defense League President Holly Sullivan told Fox News Digital that statewide Democrats chose to go after law-abiding citizens instead of criminals by passing this piece of legislation.—
Adam Sabes,
FOXNews.com,
9 May 2026
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Immigration policy is destroying the lives of families, not criminals.—
Kinsey Crowley,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
Noun
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Theater owners cut prices and dispensed prizes to ticket buyers as the gangsters effectively cross-pollinated with the studio dance numbers.—
Peter Bart,
Deadline,
23 Apr. 2026
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Violent gangsters ran fentanyl and human smuggling over the Rio Grande.—
Ioan Grillo,
Time,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The movie is understood to follow a sheriff and a doctor who seek revenge against a group of bandits who use the cover of a torrential thunderstorm to rob and terrorize the occupants of a small town.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
24 Apr. 2026
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On Derby Day in 1923, four masked bandits raided the hotel poker room, escaping into the crowds with what would now amount to a small fortune.—
Hillary Richard,
Robb Report,
23 Apr. 2026
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.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
30 Apr. 2026
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The first pictures McCullin took were of hoodlums and down-and-outs, subjects that reflected his own hardscrabble background.—
Andrew Pulver,
Air Mail,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The ones to watch out for are the ones who should be villains that aren’t.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
4 May 2026
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The iconic heroes and villains will join familiar faces already found throughout the outpost, including Ahsoka Tano, the Mandalorian, Grogu, R2-D2, Rey and more.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The series has lent a cinematic gangster attraction to the Peaky Blinders, yet the term itself was not one gang — as depicted in the show — but a generic expression from the late 19th century for the ‘street ruffians’ of Birmingham, born out of the city’s ring of poverty.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2026
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In fact, the GTW ruffians have to give the Big Honey some props for his relative restraint in the heat of the moment.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But Bruce stands apart from his fellow hooligans.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
22 Apr. 2026
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Passengers could only stare out the windows as about a dozen hooligans jumped atop the bus while others sprayed it with graffiti, including on the bus' windshield.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
30 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Rowdies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rowdies. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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