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
There’s no dearth of evil Imperial thugs in Andor — however, one character who seems to exist in a complicated moral gray is Lonni Jung (Robert Emms), a fellow ISB officer who attends Partagaz’s closed-door briefings alongside Dedra but relays the Empire’s plans to Luthen in secret.
—
Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025
Speaking of the stand: The prosecution’s main witness changes her damning testimony against Gomez when one of his thugs — the same guy that was trying to get Noah to get in his car — arrives in court and glares menacingly from the back row.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 17 Apr. 2025
The story focuses on two figures, a school principal and a thug.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Resist this madness before the unhinged, heartless bully and his spellbound thugs shred our Constitution and our future.
—Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025
Speaking of the stand: The prosecution’s main witness changes her damning testimony against Gomez when one of his thugs — the same guy that was trying to get Noah to get in his car — arrives in court and glares menacingly from the back row.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 17 Apr. 2025
The story focuses on two figures, a school principal and a thug.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Resist this madness before the unhinged, heartless bully and his spellbound thugs shred our Constitution and our future.
—Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thug
Noun
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Locomotive, which is currently in Cannes with pics such as gangster comedy Café 404 and Richard Strauss’ Deadline, has also secured deals for In the Fire of War with unnamed buyers in the likes of Poland and Germany.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
14 May 2025
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Vogue: Both are genre shows, which is sort of interesting for you: a Western and a gangster series...—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
12 May 2025
Noun
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By the way, none of us is a criminal, as hacking is not a crime.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
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Manson was a petty criminal who had been in and out of jail since childhood.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2025
Noun
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Perhaps this is why it was never required viewing in my household; there was no darker notion than our hero potentially being a villain.—
Tyler Foggatt,
New Yorker,
24 May 2025
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Of course, everyone has their own favorite Bond villain.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
24 May 2025
Noun
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King Shrewd secretly trains young Fitz as an assassin, harnessing his ancestral magic.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
25 May 2025
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Those were the final words uttered by Emperor Uriel Septum—played by none other than Star Trek's Patrick Stewart—before an assassin leaped out of the shadows to cut him down.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
22 May 2025
Noun
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But after a bandit attack leaves the children orphaned, the son dies.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
25 May 2025
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To make matters worse, it is hosted by former Family Feud kissing bandit Richard Dawson (who, let the record show, is a fantastic movie villain).—
EW.com,
EW.com,
23 May 2025
Noun
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In Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning (2023), Atwell made her debut as Grace, a thief with questionable loyalties who becomes Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) new ally.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
23 May 2025
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The film features our beloved returning team members (Luther, Benji, and Ilsa) as well as new faces like the enigmatic thief Grace (Hayley Atwell); Gabriel (Esai Morales), an assassin who knew Ethan in his pre-IMF life; and Denlinger (Cary Elwes), the Director of National Intelligence.—
Will Harris,
EW.com,
23 May 2025
Noun
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His hoodlum phase in New York was re-created at the Lenox Lounge in Harlem.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
2 May 2025
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The gang specialized in hijacking cars and guarding bootleg liquor shipments for other hoodlums during the Prohibition era.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Overcoming the first son, the group continues their journey only to face down one after another, each with his own gimmick: The pirate son with his sea-creature half-men minions, for instance; a band of hunters with their own, even deadlier werewolf.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
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Smuggler’s Copter is obviously a very famous card in Magic history, but also just the flavor of Smuggler’s Copter being, in the original set, for a pair of sky pirates.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thug. Accessed 31 May. 2025.
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