as in criminals
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
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Recent Examples of thugs
Even the Democrat hacks at Massport understood the insanity of dumping hundreds more of these thugs into one of the few functioning hubs of commercial activity left in New England.
—
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Nov. 2025
Of course, Sarah and her mom continue to believe that God is on their side, even after the family home is attacked by oil company thugs and a reliable ally winds up on the wrong end of a shotgun.
—Joe Leydon, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025
In The Big Lebowski, thugs mistake the titular slacker (Bridges) for the wealthy Jeffrey Lebowski, sending him on a wild investigation with his pal Walter (John Goodman) into a ransom plot involving Lebowski’s young wife (Tara Reid).
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2025
Their neighbor, an older Jewish woman, gets arrested and Nazi thugs brazenly loot her apartment.
—Rabih Alameddine
september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
As night falls, armed thugs roam the streets and families pick up guns to protect themselves.
—Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
Digging and cutting back garden thugs is often necessary to preserve what grows on your side of the fence.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2025
Peace isn’t easy to come by, though the motorcycle thugs who swing by to bully the locals and squeeze money out of the businesses don’t offer much resistance.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Some people are thugs for life.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Nov. 2025
Of course, Sarah and her mom continue to believe that God is on their side, even after the family home is attacked by oil company thugs and a reliable ally winds up on the wrong end of a shotgun.
—Joe Leydon, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025
In The Big Lebowski, thugs mistake the titular slacker (Bridges) for the wealthy Jeffrey Lebowski, sending him on a wild investigation with his pal Walter (John Goodman) into a ransom plot involving Lebowski’s young wife (Tara Reid).
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2025
Their neighbor, an older Jewish woman, gets arrested and Nazi thugs brazenly loot her apartment.
—Rabih Alameddine
september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
As night falls, armed thugs roam the streets and families pick up guns to protect themselves.
—Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
Digging and cutting back garden thugs is often necessary to preserve what grows on your side of the fence.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2025
Peace isn’t easy to come by, though the motorcycle thugs who swing by to bully the locals and squeeze money out of the businesses don’t offer much resistance.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Some people are thugs for life.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thugs
Noun
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The trio has a surprisingly good theory about the implosion of the makeshift Astral Pulse; seems like Shroud never found the original, and someone has been outfitting low-level criminals with bootlegs that are going awry like Robert’s.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
7 Nov. 2025
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With spoofing tools, criminals can mimic real bank phone numbers and even use AI to reproduce familiar voices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The gangsters grew powerful running liquor during Prohibition.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Beset by gangs and guns, the Haçienda faltered in the ’90s despite clever-sounding schemes such as replacing the club’s security with the gangsters themselves.—
Andrew Holter,
The Atlantic,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Like the Red Ring goons at the bar, villains all over the city are more juiced up than ever, made stronger by enhancements provided by Shroud.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Plus, there's plenty of new heroes and villains to root for and against.—
EW Staff,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The robbery lasted less than seven minutes, as the bandits used a truck with an extendable ladder to cut through a window on a second-floor balcony, according to police.—
Mason Leath,
ABC News,
27 Dec. 2025
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In return, a lord provided his peasants with protection from bandits or invaders.—
Bobbi Sutherland,
The Conversation,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
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When a father seeking vengeance, an American operative experiencing a string of bad luck, and several independent assassins hailing from around the world all end up on the same bullet train bound for Kyoto, the results are violent — and the survivors minimal.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Dec. 2025
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The situation gets more complex with the addition of a bunch of oddball assassins trying to murder the neighbor, plus other mysterious and shady types like his former associate Laverne (Weaver).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
11 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Aleah and Grasso end up saving Lizzie’s ass and capturing the hoodlums.—
Grace Byron,
Vulture,
22 Sep. 2025
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However, hoodlums and thugs who throw objects at the players give up their rights and should be removed, charged, and possibly jailed.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Brewer said the thieves also stole the radar sensor from her husband's Honda.—
Andrew Adeolu,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
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As previously reported by PEOPLE, thieves entered Sanders' residence through an unlocked door and allegedly stole $200,000 in items in 12 minutes’ time, according to Medina County Sheriff’s Office deputies.—
Becca Longmire,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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December is the busiest time of year for package deliveries and for the porch pirates who steal them.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
31 Dec. 2025
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The Houthis are now supporting Somali pirates to again raid ships in the Indian Ocean.—
Paul Bedard,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thugs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thugs. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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