See the Dictionary Definition 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tearaways
Noun
-
He’s beaten by thugs with a crowbar for an unfortunate outburst, exploited by neighbors in the council estate and arrested, all because people don’t understand Tourette syndrome.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026 -
Mayor vows to catch 'thugs who did this' Baton Rouge Mayor Sid Edwards promised that law enforcement will catch the people responsible for the violence at the mall.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In the past decade, the leadership of the Kinahan organization has become rich and cosmopolitan, and their life styles have started to resemble those of international businessmen more than of street hoodlums.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The first pictures McCullin took were of hoodlums and down-and-outs, subjects that reflected his own hardscrabble background.—
Andrew Pulver,
Air Mail,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But Bruce stands apart from his fellow hooligans.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Passengers could only stare out the windows as about a dozen hooligans jumped atop the bus while others sprayed it with graffiti, including on the bus' windshield.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
So, while Rue and Maddy are confabbing over milkshakes in a diner, Alamo sends Rue off for a drive with his two toughs, G (Marshawn Lynch) and the icy Bishop (Darrell Britt-Gibson).—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
11 May 2026
-
The gangland drama is deeper and darker than the domestic one, strengthened by the unexpected portrayal of the Russian toughs as bumbling in their own way.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Conversely, maybe the fact that their songs, while impressively self-possessed, weren’t directly confrontational has kept them from being counted as forebears to the feminist punks who would come after.—
Marissa Lorusso,
Pitchfork,
3 May 2026
-
Music zines often had the same format, columns from semi-famous punks, interviews with up-and-coming bands, record reviews, and, always shunted to the back, zine reviews.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The gangsters who are running the country almost pride themselves on a lack of subtlety and finesse.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
11 May 2026
-
Theater owners cut prices and dispensed prizes to ticket buyers as the gangsters effectively cross-pollinated with the studio dance numbers.—
Peter Bart,
Deadline,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The series has lent a cinematic gangster attraction to the Peaky Blinders, yet the term itself was not one gang — as depicted in the show — but a generic expression from the late 19th century for the ‘street ruffians’ of Birmingham, born out of the city’s ring of poverty.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
The math did not math for a 68-team field for 300-plus basketball teams, and so in the midst of their relatively hostile takeover, the bullies also tossed the leaded balloon about tournament expansion.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
8 May 2026
-
Skip bullies like Canadian goldenrod that have rampant roots and seeds that self-sow everywhere.—
Teresa Woodard,
Midwest Living,
3 May 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Tearaways.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tearaways. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
