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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 Ciri, unbeknowest to her surrogate ma and pa, is free of her Nilfgaardian captors and on the run with a band of adolescent ruffians, and perhaps figuring out how to take care of herself. — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025 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 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
  • That a Christian man was responsible for the devastation in Oklahoma City certainly didn’t matter to the thugs who terrorized a Muslim woman there, nearly seven months pregnant, by attacking her home, breaking her windows, screaming religious slurs.
    — Reshma Memon Yaqub, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
  • On a cold night in November 2011, in a field outside Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, a gang of thugs stormed a Soviet scientific research institute, beat and humiliated the staff and burned the place to the ground.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of thug
Noun
  • Her bulging eyes, her piercing shrieks, her casual yet immaculately articulate cruelty all come together to form a cartoonish villain who’s also a commanding delight.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The implicit villain in that critique was Senator Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who refused to go along with changing the Senate rules, dooming many of Biden’s legislative ambitions.
    — Isaac Arnsdorf, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of villain
Noun
  • Victims who clicked those ads were redirected to fake banking websites controlled by the criminals, according to the DOJ.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Trump, his family and his wealthy cronies are criminals spending taxpayers’ money and taking it with their underhanded deals with our enemies.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of criminal
Noun
  • When a wealthy, royal woman is attacked by bandits, the two men save her and are welcomed to the castle as valiant knights.
    — Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Elsewhere, a gang of highway bandits cons an unsuspecting family into stopping by the roadside, only to violently kill them, burn their bodies, and strip their car for parts.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of bandit
Noun
  • Though Pachinko featured more angels than demons, Lee still convincingly inhabited Koh Hansu, the gangster and groomer.
    — Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Born Again followed Fisk who goes from being a gangster to a NYC autocrat mayor.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of gangster
Noun
  • The series follows the exploits of Luffy and his pirate crew in their search for the eponymous One Piece.
    — Theara Coleman, TheWeek, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Their journey brings them into conflict with pirates seeking control of the sacred water on which their community depends.
    — Ed Meza, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of pirate
Noun
  • Its tale of a Zainichi assassin (an ethnic Korean in Japan), as well as fraying political tensions between the North and South, take its characters far and wide, in a follow-the-money treasure hunt dangerously close to the halls of power.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Some earlier assassins expected it of themselves, canceling plots that would have killed bystanders.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of assassin
Noun
  • Museums in France—and elsewhere in Europe—have been on high alert for the past year because thieves have taken valuable objects from their walls, not because visitors have added inconsequential ones to them.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The thief, Mo Hailong, was sentenced in 2016 to 36 months in prison for conspiracy to steal trade secrets from DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto, two of the world’s largest seed companies at the time.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of thief

Browse Nearby Words

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ruffian
ruffianly
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Cite this Entry

“Ruffian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruffian. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

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