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
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
Hutch screams at thugs during a four-on-one melee, and the irony is only flesh-wound deep.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2025
Lendina’s thugs try to force Hutch out of town, attacking him on a duck boat.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 13 Aug. 2025
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
Hutch screams at thugs during a four-on-one melee, and the irony is only flesh-wound deep.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2025
Lendina’s thugs try to force Hutch out of town, attacking him on a duck boat.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thugs
Noun
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As the trend becomes increasingly widespread, criminals are turning to faster ways to procure cars for racing.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
17 Oct. 2025
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Instead, two wannabe criminals, with their faces obscured by pantyhose, simply walk into the local art museum and rip the paintings right off the walls.—
Haadiza Ogwude,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Two sisters with a tragic story are said to linger upstairs at Langston’s Western Wear, and unexplained voices and rattling glassware have been heard at Gabriella’s Italian Grill, a Prohibition-era building with a gangsters and gambling history.—
Beth Luberecki,
USA Today,
11 Oct. 2025
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In those times, young people who self-described as gangsters fought for territory, and one of their subversive acts was to tag the walls of the city with the verses of cumbia songs.—
Karla Gachet,
NPR,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Their success obviously wasn't permanent, given Hocus Pocus 2 sees the villains return — but hey, almost 30 years of banishment is a pretty good run.—
Gwen Ihnat,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Oct. 2025
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Still, the Expos' downfall is not without its villains.—
Jon Paul Hoornstra,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Over $200 Off NFL Sunday Ticket NFL fans can make out like bandits with the DraftKings Sportsbook welcome offer.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Sep. 2025
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Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern were cast as the bumbling but dogged bandits, Harry and Marv, and Catherine O’Hara brought humor and compassion to the part of Kevin’s mother.—
Tim Greiving,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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First, though, more assassins come for them.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
10 Oct. 2025
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Are assassins like Kirk’s killer simply pathological outliers among agitated but otherwise self-restrained populations?—
Ron Barrett,
The Conversation,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Aleah and Grasso end up saving Lizzie’s ass and capturing the hoodlums.—
Grace Byron,
Vulture,
22 Sep. 2025
-
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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Authorities revealed footage of a home invasion in Florida that saw armed thieves holding a couple at gunpoint after tracking them down with an Apple AirTag this week.—
Anders Hagstrom,
FOXNews.com,
16 Oct. 2025
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This way, when any potential thieves show up, the crunch of the leaves under sneaky paws will alert the woodrats.—
Karl Schneider,
IndyStar,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In the Tatsuya Nagamine movie, Z is the name of an admiral who has sworn to destroy all the pirates of the New World, because of the pirates’ dream to have no leader, motivated only by their alliances that uphold the interests of every person and community.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Oct. 2025
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For Larissa Knapp, a 27-year FBI veteran who was hired by an entertainment trade group last year to bolster ACE’s work hunting pirates, the timing could hardly have been better.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thugs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thugs. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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