as in thugs
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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Recent Examples of ruffians
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
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
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 28 Feb. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruffians
Noun
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The thugs would insinuate themselves into the confidence of wayfarers and, when a favorable opportunity presented itself, strangle them by throwing a handkerchief or noose around their necks.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
31 Mar. 2026
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No government masked thugs shooting down our neighbors in the streets.—
Diego Parrado,
Vanity Fair,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Göring, played by Russell Crowe, is the troubling centerpiece of James Vanderbilt’s ambitious film devoted to the trial of the major Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg in 1945–1946.—
Alice Kaplan,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
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Also included is a 13% increase in funding for the Department of Justice to focus on violent criminals and a $481 million increase in funding to enhance aviation safety and support an air traffic controller hiring surge.—
LISA MASCARO,
Arkansas Online,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Set against mountainous landscapes and rural lakes, the story follows a wandering swordsman who is falsely accused of stealing a shipment of gold and must unravel a web of intrigue involving bandits, palace guards and corrupt officials while attempting to clear his name.—
Lin Ying-Hsuan,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
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Alongside attacks by bandits, Nigeria is also plagued by an insurgency fought by the Boko Haram extremist group and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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They get captured by Hungarian gangsters and have to fight (and kill) their way out of an inn run by a shady former dance prodigy (Uma Thurman).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
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Once housing notorious gangsters such as Al Capone, the notorious Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary closed its doors to prisoners in 1963, since becoming a museum.—
Zach Halaschak,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Design There’s a reason James Bond villains chase 007’s Aston Martin in fleets of black Defenders.—
John Scott Lewinski,
Robb Report,
8 Apr. 2026
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In the two-parter, which airs April 14 (8PM – 10 PM), the series’ central character, Amy (Molly Parker) will risk her life for one of the series’ main villains, Richard (Scott Wolf), who had killed a patient, tried to cover it up and blamed it on Amy, almost ending her career.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Rather than prohibiting unlicensed copies, the patent became, combined with the rise of the internet, a blueprint for pirates.—
Simon Akam,
Vanity Fair,
2 Apr. 2026
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The Vikings were raiders, pirates, traders, explorers, and colonizers who traveled far beyond their homeland in Scandinavia between the 9th and 11 centuries.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Mirrors were such a precious commodity in the heyday of the Venetian Republic that the assassins were dispatched to, well, dispatch any defectors who left La Serenissima and tried to take the secrets of creating that mesmerizing, reflective surface along with them.—
Mark Ellwood,
Robb Report,
17 Mar. 2026
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Consider Bobbi, one of the assassins sent north to find Armando.—
Michael Snyder,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The thieves got away on the CTA Red Line, but police were able to track the bear to the 35th Street station.—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
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The thieves are still at large.—
Vanessa Yurkevich,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ruffians.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruffians. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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