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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Example Sentences
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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 centerpiece is, of course, the melee/dance-off between the ensemble in white tutus and the violent thugs, toe blade and all.—
Lé Baltar,
IndieWire,
14 Mar. 2026
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The Democrats, though, have no problems releasing all these bloodthirsty thugs back into the neighborhood.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That way, even if your data circulates, criminals have a harder time breaking in.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Mar. 2026
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By demanding justice and dignity for the drug-war dead, were nuns, priests, pastors, and other sympathizers not protecting criminals?—
Sheila Coronel,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 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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Set in the Mississippi Delta during the early 1930s, the film follows Smoke and Stack, twin brothers (both played by Jordan) who return to their hometown after years spent working for Chicago gangsters, hoping to start fresh and leave their violent past behind.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 Mar. 2026
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In the movie’s fuzzy metaphysics, Shelley wills herself into the consciousness of a character named Ida (also played by Buckley), a young woman angling for survival in 1930s Chicago — a colorful, dangerous world of bawdy lotharios and lethal gangsters.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The movie does attempt to gesture at class and race as thematic underpinnings (the maids trapped in The Virgil are mostly non-white, while the villains are rich Caucasians), but like the story and action at large, these go pretty much nowhere, and feel like obligatory symbols.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
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Jack Balderrama Morley examines the beautiful, terrible, villains of reality television.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Doorbell cameras catch porch pirates.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
18 Mar. 2026
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Where the Story Is Heading Season 2 ended with the Straw Hat pirates realizing the scale of Baroque Works and setting course for Arabasta Island.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Consider Bobbi, one of the assassins sent north to find Armando.—
Michael Snyder,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
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Abova plays Miss All-Sunday, one of the several assassins of the Baroque Works organization.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
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It had been snatched from Gerald Ross, 70, by two thieves who followed him home from a trip to a bank and a post office.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Mar. 2026
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Depending on the ebbs and flows of the bubble during championship week — and potential bid thieves — 22 teams fit this distinction.—
Scott Phillips,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ruffians.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruffians. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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