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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ruffian
And then there was Post Malone, the rapping, rocking everyman who has replaced Kid Rock as America’s favorite ruffian.
—
Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2024
Read More: Fans React to Beyoncé's New Album Cowboy Carter
Once seen as ruffians and pushed to the outskirts of Victorian society, cowboys were reinvented as rugged cultural heroes in the American consciousness in the early 20th century through dime novels, rodeos, movies, and more.
—TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
The building, erected in 1915 as the Rieger Hotel, served traveling salesmen, railroad ruffians and gangsters in the early 20th Century.
—David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2024
Despite their reputation as ruffians from the sticks, RSF troops are battle tested, disciplined, and armed to the teeth.
—Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 27 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for ruffian
Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2024
Read More: Fans React to Beyoncé's New Album Cowboy Carter
Once seen as ruffians and pushed to the outskirts of Victorian society, cowboys were reinvented as rugged cultural heroes in the American consciousness in the early 20th century through dime novels, rodeos, movies, and more.
—TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
The building, erected in 1915 as the Rieger Hotel, served traveling salesmen, railroad ruffians and gangsters in the early 20th Century.
—David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2024
Despite their reputation as ruffians from the sticks, RSF troops are battle tested, disciplined, and armed to the teeth.
—Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 27 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for ruffian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruffian
Noun
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In The Big Lebowski, thugs mistake the titular slacker (Bridges) for the wealthy Jeffrey Lebowski, sending him on a wild investigation with his pal Walter (John Goodman) into a ransom plot involving Lebowski’s young wife (Tara Reid).—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
8 Oct. 2025
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Girls were there and there were guys that were really extra on some thug, some goon sh*t.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The cast also includes Eugene Byrd as a young version of classic Spider-Man villain Tombstone, Hugh Dancy as Otto Octavius, MCU star Charlie Cox as Daredevil, Kari Wahlgren as Aunt May, Aleks Le as Amadeus Cho and Jonathan Medina as the villainous Scorpion.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
11 Oct. 2025
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The tournaments pit heroes like Liu Kang, Raiden, and Sonya Blade against such villains as Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, and Scorpion.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Flock Safety argues its drone system can act as a deterrent simply by being visible, making criminals think twice before targeting a store.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
11 Oct. 2025
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So those drums can fall into the hands of criminals who then refill them with the cheaper, toxic liquids and pass them off as the pharmaceutical-grade product, selling them to drug manufacturers who are looking to save money on ingredients.—
Gabrielle Emanuel,
NPR,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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So there's always a chance that Tatum's red-eyed bandit could be making a lot more appearances in the future!—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Oct. 2025
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What a perfect opportunity for the island’s shoe bandit to strike again!—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Two sisters with a tragic story are said to linger upstairs at Langston’s Western Wear, and unexplained voices and rattling glassware have been heard at Gabriella’s Italian Grill, a Prohibition-era building with a gangsters and gambling history.—
Beth Luberecki,
USA Today,
11 Oct. 2025
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Mint follows Shannon, the naïve daughter of the area’s dominant crime family, desperately searching for love in the shadow of her gangster father, Dylan (Sam Riley).—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The protests are led by a youth movement which uses symbols — including a pirate flag from popular Japanese manga One Piece, a stand-in for confronting oppression — associated with demonstrations in other countries, including Morocco, Nepal, and Peru.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
14 Oct. 2025
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In the Tatsuya Nagamine movie, Z is the name of an admiral who has sworn to destroy all the pirates of the New World, because of the pirates’ dream to have no leader, motivated only by their alliances that uphold the interests of every person and community.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
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By the end, only one of the assassins is alive; Brian ties him to a tree and slaps him around a bit, demanding to know who hired him.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
10 Oct. 2025
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This isn’t a professional assassin.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Based on Richard Stark's Parker novels, Shane Black's unapologetically ridiculous action comedy casts Mark Wahlberg as a legendary thief who vows vengeance on a woman (Rosa Salazar) who turned on him the last job.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
10 Oct. 2025
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Wahlberg plays Parker, a blue-collar thief seeking revenge after a brutal double-cross.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
9 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruffian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruffian. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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