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
The thugs oppose other whites (plus one exotic token black thug) also struggling toward civilization, opposing women through gender domination.
—
Armond White, National Review, 4 June 2025
There’s the school thug and martial-arts champ Conor Day (Aramis Knight), who used to go out with Mia.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 May 2025
Summit, June 10 Image So Far Gone by Jess Walter
Rhys Kinnick, a journalist and a recluse, is living off the grid in the woods near Spokane, Wash., when his grandchildren are kidnapped by thugs.
—Laura Thompson, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Everything changes, however, when two thugs come to visit and promptly beat the ever-loving heck out of Hank at the front door.
—Emlyn Travis Published, EW.com, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Armond White, National Review, 4 June 2025
There’s the school thug and martial-arts champ Conor Day (Aramis Knight), who used to go out with Mia.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 May 2025
Summit, June 10 Image So Far Gone by Jess Walter
Rhys Kinnick, a journalist and a recluse, is living off the grid in the woods near Spokane, Wash., when his grandchildren are kidnapped by thugs.
—Laura Thompson, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Everything changes, however, when two thugs come to visit and promptly beat the ever-loving heck out of Hank at the front door.
—Emlyn Travis Published, EW.com, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thug
Noun
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Mohammed's character Hugh has to snort cocaine during the trio's initial meeting with the gangster Fly (Paddy Considine) to prove that the trio aren't posers.—
Ralphie Aversa,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
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His father was a Genovese gangster murdered by the Colombo crime family in retaliation for committing two slayings — a story people told Pappa as a child — and his stepfather was locked up for drug and tax evasion charges.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
9 June 2025
Noun
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Cruz, the son of an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who came to the U.S. in the 1970s, said he’s angered by the federal government’s portrayal that anyone without documents living in the United States is a criminal.—
Summer Lin,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2025
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Their records contain sensitive personal information, that, if leaked, could allow criminals to steal the identities of unsuspecting customers.—
Theo Burman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 June 2025
Noun
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Clayface is shape-shifting villain in the Batman comics and got his introduction as part of Detective Comics #40 in June 1940.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
17 June 2025
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Welcome to the Post-Trust Era A social media app isn’t the villain.—
Ankush Chowdhary,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
Noun
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Alpha Slow Horse agent River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) unravels the connection between himself and the former CIA operative-turned-mercenary (Hugo Weaving) who’s raised an entire brood of psychopathic assassins.—
Hugh Hart,
Los Angeles Times,
17 June 2025
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Carey plays the role of the relentless assassin well.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2025
Noun
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Ensure Robust Model Management In healthcare, AI reliability demands robust model management—continuous monitoring, causal inference in production, multi-arm bandit testing and human-in-the-loop oversight.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
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There were corridos about the exploits of bandits and outlaws, some of them Robin Hood-esque characters who outwitted oafish authorities and helped the poor.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2025
Noun
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Set in a sedate corner of Massachusetts circa 1970, the story follows JB Mooney (O’Connor), an unemployed carpenter turned amateur art thief, who plans his first big heist.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
6 June 2025
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One of the thieves charged a responding officer, cops said.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
6 June 2025
Noun
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Critics say police gave up when the rioting erupted in 1992, letting big chunks of the city burn while looters and hoodlums ruled.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2025
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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
Noun
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Lion has defected from the Wakandan guard in order to run a band of pirates, and has stolen technology from Wakanda in order to found his own kingdom.—
Kambole Campbell,
Variety,
9 June 2025
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And for Trump’s onetime pirate ship of a political movement, Butterworth’s represents an ostentatious new evolutionary phase: the deplorable as arriviste.—
Robert Draper,
New York Times,
2 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thug. Accessed 23 Jun. 2025.
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