Thesaurus results for THUGS

thugs

noun

plural of thug

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

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 thugs The eponymous former assassin is drawn back into the game after some thugs (led by Alfie Allen) kill his dog and royally piss him off. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026 Shortly after his big win, he’s attacked by two thugs in a parking garage. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 30 July 2026 The night of the title fight, Duke is attacked by two thugs who smash his hand with a hammer and, in the ensuing chaos, kill somebody close to him. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2026 In the big screen take of Clayface, Hagen is a matinee idol on the rise, but his face gets slashed by thugs. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 23 July 2026 Threatening to limit mail-in voting, adding ridiculous ID requirements, or staging thugs at polling places are other possible ways to convince you to stay home. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 6 July 2026 To be sure, the thugs of Hamas and Hezbollah committed a horrific massacre of young Jewish civilians enjoying a music festival on October 7, 2023. — Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 6 July 2026 The actions of these thugs, who should be imprisoned for a long while, is the cause of denying real Knicks fans the chance to watch the game communally. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 10 June 2026 People have committed suicide because a bunch of thugs went after them. — NBC news, 7 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for thugs

Noun

Throughout the bar are blurbs of information on cases and criminals, researched by Rose and the team.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026
When criminals are behind bars, their victims should finally be safe from them.

— Caden Perry, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

The bodies start piling up – and business booms – but the growing enterprise puts the trio in the crosshairs of the powerful gangsters and underworld figures in the lawless border town of Saribgunj.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026
Duane Keith Davis is accused of orchestrating Shakur’s killing in September 1996, and the lore of other rappers and gangsters looms large over his trial.

— Aditi Sangal, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of gangsters

Noun

At the time of the arrest, many royal observers speculated about Harry and Meghan’s reaction, especially since they had often been portrayed as the family villains.

— Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 25 Aug. 2026
As baseball's new villains, the Dodgers' fate in October will be the most talked about storyline.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of villains

Noun

Analysts warn each ransom payment fuels more crime as armed groups, from rural bandits to Islamist militants, raid schools, mosques and villages, with an average of 21 kidnappings reported daily.

— Dyepkazah Shibayan, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
The Brigands of Rattlecreek follows a sheriff and a doctor who seek revenge against a group of bandits who use the cover of a torrential thunderstorm to rob and terrorize the occupants of a small town.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of bandits

Noun

Bannerman centers on the eponymous Paul Bannerman, a lethal covert operative who convinces a group of the world’s most deadly assassins to quit the spy game for a chance to lead normal lives in the suburbs of Connecticut.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2026
Meanwhile, Clive Owen and other assassins pursue them through the streets of Europe.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of assassins

Noun

In the past decade, the leadership of the Kinahan organization has become rich and cosmopolitan, and their life styles have started to resemble those of international businessmen more than of street hoodlums.

— Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2026
The first pictures McCullin took were of hoodlums and down-and-outs, subjects that reflected his own hardscrabble background.

— Andrew Pulver, Air Mail, 31 Jan. 2026

Definition of hoodlums

Noun

For more than a week, there wasn’t much news or fanfare that thieves stole more than 40,000 pounds of Milwaukee-founded Pabst Blue Ribbon, or PBR, beer from a Montclair distribution center.

— Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
In September 2025, thieves snatched three porcelain works worth millions of dollars and classed as national treasures in a heist at the Adrien Dubouche National Museum in Limoges in central France.

— CBS News, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of thieves

Noun

Speaking of singing pirates, Curry clearly fancied these kinds of roles, signing on to play the villainous Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island (1996), Brian Henson’s musical adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026
That is up from Politico’s report that Somali pirates had seized at least three tankers carrying oil and fertilizer since April, while a chemical-carrying ship was hijacked off Yemen in July.

— Joshua Hong, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of pirates

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“Thugs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thugs. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of thugs

noun

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