Thesaurus results for THUG

thug

noun

ˈthəg

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of thug And Davis’s integrity puts him at odds with his longtime fence, Money (Nick Nolte, nice and growly as ever), who responds by enlisting the services of Ormon (Barry Keoghan), a platinum-blond thug on a motorcycle. —

Justin Chang, New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2026 The last major character is Ormon (Barry Keoghan), the thug hired by Nolte’s Money to terrorize his former protégé, and to make sure that any robbery ends with the money in the correct pocket (his). —

Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Feb. 2026 The forces involved in this deadly crackdown include the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), its Basij thugs and various divisions of Iran’s security forces. —

Hamid Kashani, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2026 When three murderous thugs attempt to reclaim the contraband from Susan, a nightmarish scenario unfolds during the two-hour stage story. —

Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for thug

Recent Examples of Synonyms for thug

Noun

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
After all, the larger-than-life actor was mostly known for playing a gangster in Goodfellas (1990).

— Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Mar. 2026