Thesaurus results for TEARAWAYS

tearaways

noun

plural of tearaway, British

as in thugs

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tearaways

Noun

In the big screen take of Clayface, Hagen is a matinee idol on the rise, but his face gets slashed by thugs.

— Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 23 July 2026
Threatening to limit mail-in voting, adding ridiculous ID requirements, or staging thugs at polling places are other possible ways to convince you to stay home.

— Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 6 July 2026

Definition of thugs

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

Definition of hoodlums

Noun

Andric argued that former soccer players targeted by hooligans were indeed a social group deserving protection, but the judges didn’t buy it.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026
But the victims were labeled as hooligans, and many survivors and victims' families felt the government had not done enough to investigate.

— Lauren Frayer, NPR, 9 July 2026

Definition of hooligans

Noun

In that version, the character is played by Joe Don Baker, the great character actor known for playing toughs in films like Walking Tall (1973) and Fletch (1985).

— Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
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

Definition of toughs

Noun

This dogmatic approach to revolutionary citizenship led to the horrible treatment of any perceived as nonconformist, such as LGBTQ people, hippies or punks.

— Juan Carlos Albarran, The Conversation, 13 July 2026
People don’t think of themselves as Jewish punks at this time.

— Siran Babayan, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026

Definition of punks

Noun

Remember all those fake memoirs from the early 2000s, by all those writers pretending to be addicts and gangsters and Holocaust survivors?

— James Parker, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026
In each, the protagonist(s) will be sought by both police and gangsters yet will lose their own money and have to get along without any while on the run.

— Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026

Definition of gangsters

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

Definition of ruffians

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.

Browse Nearby Words

tearaway

tearaways

tear down

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Tearaways.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tearaways. Accessed 26 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of tearaways

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

aerie

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

Popular

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes