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 That a Christian man was responsible for the devastation in Oklahoma City certainly didn’t matter to the thugs who terrorized a Muslim woman there, nearly seven months pregnant, by attacking her home, breaking her windows, screaming religious slurs. — Reshma Memon Yaqub, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026 Some of the thugs were actual neo-Nazis, led by real-life Russian fascist Maksim Martsinkevich, who would later be imprisoned for posting racist videos, investigated for murder and, in 2020, found dead in his cell of an apparent suicide. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026 Meanwhile, Kyle and his usual pair of special-forces thugs track down a suspiciously large plane (as in, big enough to fly across the Atlantic) and an equally suspicious flight manifest. — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2026 Gail Bean and Isaiah John return to their roles as Wanda Bell and Leon Simmons, who are guiding the drug trade into the 1990s as gangsta rap goes mainstream and street thugs become music millionaires. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 4 Sep. 2026 Dozens of settler thugs are still freely roaming the village. — David Shulman, The New York Review of Books, 26 Aug. 2026 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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for thugs

Noun

Operating system and browser updates regularly fix vulnerabilities that criminals may try to exploit.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026
Most crimes across Mexico went unsolved, and authorities sometimes appeared to be colluding with criminals instead of fighting them.

— Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

When a wealthy, royal woman is attacked by bandits, the two men save her and are welcomed to the castle as valiant knights.

— Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
Elsewhere, a gang of highway bandits cons an unsuspecting family into stopping by the roadside, only to violently kill them, burn their bodies, and strip their car for parts.

— Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of bandits

Noun

The settler assassins were arrested by the police and as usual released within a few hours.

— David Shulman, The New York Review of Books, 26 Aug. 2026
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

Definition of assassins

Noun

His warning was meant for American eyes and ears at least as much — if not more so — than for the government in Jerusalem that until now has encouraged the hoodlums by tolerating their violence.

— Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of hoodlums

Noun

They are finally revealed as the head-lamps of a gang of thieves, robbing a church, caught closer up, their faces occasionally emerging from the gloom.

— John Hopewell, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
Whyte is a hoot, and her thick-as-thieves chemistry with Horgan a delight.

— Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of thieves

Noun

Within hours, their yacht vanishes, Matt is abducted by a gang of ruthless pirates led by Langbore (Copley), and paradise becomes a trap.

— Alex Ritman, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
Knights in shining armor, pirates and princesses grace the grounds of Sleepy Hollow for the annual Renaissance Faire in Des Moines.

— Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of pirates

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“Thugs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thugs. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of thugs

noun

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