as in gangster
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
the Mob boss regularly sent his thugs after people who were slow to pay their debts
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of thug
At least being a thug is more lucrative than being a poet.
—
Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2025
According to reporting from the Clermont Sun, Fike tweeted ‘#thug the new n word’ in April 2015 and ‘Thug life = thug treatment = no pity from me’ in July 2019.
—James Wilkins, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 July 2025
From bravely standing up to ICE thugs, to becoming best buddies with mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, to releasing one of my favorite campaign videos of all time, the NYC comptroller is doing great right now.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 17 July 2025
They had been subjected to nine months of relentless Russian propaganda, which depicts the government in Kyiv as a band of fascist thugs.
—Simon Shuster, Time, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2025
According to reporting from the Clermont Sun, Fike tweeted ‘#thug the new n word’ in April 2015 and ‘Thug life = thug treatment = no pity from me’ in July 2019.
—James Wilkins, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 July 2025
From bravely standing up to ICE thugs, to becoming best buddies with mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, to releasing one of my favorite campaign videos of all time, the NYC comptroller is doing great right now.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 17 July 2025
They had been subjected to nine months of relentless Russian propaganda, which depicts the government in Kyiv as a band of fascist thugs.
—Simon Shuster, Time, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thug
Noun
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The book was about how his father chose conventional family values over the life of a gangster.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
2 Aug. 2025
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That audio clip has been shared some 60,000 times on TikTok, often by Venezuelans ridiculing the notion that everybody from their country is a gangster.—
ProPublica,
ProPublica,
23 July 2025
Noun
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The Saturday Night Live alum, 31, and Beverly Hills Cop actor, 64, star in the action-comedy The Pickup as Travis and Russell, two security guards whose vehicle is hijacked by Zoe (Keke Palmer), a criminal on a mission to avenge her dad by robbing a casino.—
Rebecca Aizin,
People.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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Neighborhoods where residents get out and meet each other and know their law enforcement are safer and discourage criminals — that’s the thinking behind the National Night Out campaign.—
Heather McRea,
Oc Register,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Temuera Morrison plays a terrific villain as the murderous King Kahekili.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
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Living with the aftermath Smollett in Episode 9 Courtesy of Apple TV+ Lehane never set out to create a simple morality tale with clear heroes and villains.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The deal paves the way for new installments for Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne, a CIA assassin suffering from amnesia.—
Katcy Stephan,
Variety,
13 Aug. 2025
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Bloodsport, being an assassin who has a change of heart and becomes a hero, while also having a deep rat phobia, was fantastic.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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An anonymous tipster called police to say the bandits were trying to sell their loot less than a mile away, and gave the cops Hussein’s Instagram handle, according to court filings.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
12 Aug. 2025
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Industrialists like Rockefeller and Carnegie weren’t worried about horseback bandits; their focus was on land rights, freight monopolies and who controlled the rails.—
Jodi Daniels,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Robert De Niro is Neil McCauley, a master thief planning a daring bank robbery with the help of his crew (including Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, and Danny Trejo), and Al Pacino is LAPD Lieutenant Vincent Hanna, obsessed with bringing McCauley to justice.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
6 Aug. 2025
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The Nope actress stars as Zoe, a conniving thief who plots to steal an armored truck, in the heist-comedy The Pickup.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Whereas the Star Wars sequels woefully misused the actor's talents, this movie puts them center stage, playing one of the teen hoodlums who join forces with their victim to fight off nasty, otherworldly invaders.—
Chris Snellgrove,
EW.com,
12 Aug. 2025
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Let the bromance begin, as Derringer and Clarke squabble their way back to the Western world, punching out hoodlums and escaping to Poland in the back of a livestock truck.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
2 July 2025
Noun
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Learn all about the many groups, from Native Americans to Spanish pirates to English settlers to wealthy cotton planters to enslaved people, who have lived on the island and influenced its development at the Edisto Island Museum.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
6 Aug. 2025
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John Cleese shows up as a pirate and tries to make a call from a payphone on the ship, while his parrot, who is in love with him, gripes that Cleese is neglecting her and should take her to dinner with all his doubloons.—
Sophie Brickman,
The Atlantic,
4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thug. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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