ruffian

noun

ˈrə-fē-ən How to pronounce ruffian (audio)
Definition of ruffiannext
as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang a gang of ruffians preying upon people who ventured into that section of town

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 ruffian When both young people meet their end the Baron saves Christina by putting Hans’ brain in Christina’s body, uniting their blurred identities in a joint thirst for revenge, creating a Gothic avenger who hunts down the aristocratic ruffians who ruined their happiness. — Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025 Friends and neighbors worried that these rumors could attract dangerous young ruffians who might harm them and steal the money. — Mara Bovsun, New York Daily News, 15 Dec. 2024 Then again, the fight scene did that on its own, sounding more refined than ruffian. — Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2024 Troy Stecher is a puck-mover with some two-way ability but is not considered a ruffian in the corners and in front of the net. — Allan Mitchell, The Athletic, 9 Aug. 2024 See All Example Sentences for ruffian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruffian
  1. thug
  2. villain
  3. criminal
  4. bandit
  5. gangster
  6. pirate
  7. assassin
  8. thief
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 Modi government has portrayed the demonstrators as villains.
    — Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 20 July 2026
  • In the comic, twin brothers Sean and Chris learn their bodies have been enhanced by nanotechnology, thrusting them into a fight against the villain Deadalus within a futuristic world where nature and technology exist side by side.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 20 July 2026
Definition of villain
Noun
  • California has some of the nation’s toughest gun laws, but state lawmakers are concerned that a new technology is allowing criminals to obtain firearms by building them from scratch.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026
  • This lengthy process was typical of ICE’s previous procedures to track down criminals, Sandweg said, which may have shifted under the demands of this administration’s daily arrest goals.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
Definition of criminal
Noun
  • People in northwest Nigeria are caught between regular attacks by bandit groups who specialize in kidnapping for ransom and Islamist militants who have been expanding their territory.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of bandit
Noun
  • Ritchson plays a tough guy who falls for a local gangster’s girl.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 21 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 gangster
Noun
  • Sources tell Deadline that Sony Pictures is in negotiations to land the project, with Scott directing and Jackman on board to play the pirate Long John Silver.
    — Justin Kroll, Deadline, 22 July 2026
  • This uprising of students at the Athens Polytechnic University and their famous pirate-radio broadcasts are commonly understood to be the beginning of the end of the junta.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026
Definition of pirate
Noun
  • By the time Cameron came up with the idea for The Terminator — about a robot assassin sent back in time to kill the mother of humanity’s unborn savior — Wisher was growing more interested in screenwriting.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 July 2026
  • Their characters — a notorious assassin and a lawyer — race across Europe, balancing brutal fights and a messy, decades-long friendship.
    — Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026
Definition of assassin
Noun
  • That filtering suggests the thieves want compact files that may contain credentials or financial records.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 July 2026
  • More than 400,000 KitKat bars, some 12 tons of chocolate, had vanished while being transported from a Nestlé factory in central Italy to its destination in Poland, after thieves made off with the truck.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 20 July 2026
Definition of thief

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ruff
ruffian
ruffianly
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Cite this Entry

“Ruffian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruffian. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of ruffian for Spanish Speakers

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