variants
also toughy
as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
after numerous suspensions, the school toughies were finally expelled for gang activities on campus
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of toughie
Other toughies are at the not-so-soft Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13, the revenge trip to New England in Week 15 and the Philadelphia Eagles at Highmark Stadium in Week 17.
—
Tim Graham, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
And special days call for special grids, such as this set of six toughies that were originally shelved but have remained in our hearts.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025
Extra time may be spent looking for that toughie that was present just a few days ago.
—Taylor Piephoff, charlotteobserver, 15 Dec. 2017
Another cold-weather toughie is Alaska's red flat bark beetle, which, under lab conditions, can survive cooling down to minus 238 degrees Fahrenheit.
—Liz Langley, National Geographic, 10 Dec. 2016
The surprises come from Rachel McAdams, who holds her own as a wise-cracking toughie, and Peña, who defrosts from macho pride mode with low-key grace.
—Hugh Hart, WIRED, 29 Oct. 2008
Tim Graham, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
And special days call for special grids, such as this set of six toughies that were originally shelved but have remained in our hearts.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025
Extra time may be spent looking for that toughie that was present just a few days ago.
—Taylor Piephoff, charlotteobserver, 15 Dec. 2017
Another cold-weather toughie is Alaska's red flat bark beetle, which, under lab conditions, can survive cooling down to minus 238 degrees Fahrenheit.
—Liz Langley, National Geographic, 10 Dec. 2016
The surprises come from Rachel McAdams, who holds her own as a wise-cracking toughie, and Peña, who defrosts from macho pride mode with low-key grace.
—Hugh Hart, WIRED, 29 Oct. 2008
Recent Examples of Synonyms for toughie
Noun
-
The new Homeland Security person needs to unmask the thugs causing harm to families and innocent children.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Mar. 2026
-
The centerpiece is, of course, the melee/dance-off between the ensemble in white tutus and the violent thugs, toe blade and all.—
Lé Baltar,
IndieWire,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Meanwhile, a running back on the underdog 49ers will find the sledding tough on the ground, providing gamblers with a desirable rushing under to bet.—
Josh Shepardson,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Doing so with a CVS receipt-long injury list is all kinds of tough.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The movie does attempt to gesture at class and race as thematic underpinnings (the maids trapped in The Virgil are mostly non-white, while the villains are rich Caucasians), but like the story and action at large, these go pretty much nowhere, and feel like obligatory symbols.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Each ship name in the class has fed into a theme on board, with Wish tied to enchantment, Treasure to adventure and Destiny to heroes and villains.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That way, even if your data circulates, criminals have a harder time breaking in.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Mar. 2026
-
By demanding justice and dignity for the drug-war dead, were nuns, priests, pastors, and other sympathizers not protecting criminals?—
Sheila Coronel,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In the movie’s fuzzy metaphysics, Shelley wills herself into the consciousness of a character named Ida (also played by Buckley), a young woman angling for survival in 1930s Chicago — a colorful, dangerous world of bawdy lotharios and lethal gangsters.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
-
After all, the larger-than-life actor was mostly known for playing a gangster in Goodfellas (1990).—
Chris Snellgrove,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The latter seemed to be a proud vindication of corridos, a style that’s been increasingly under scrutiny in música mexicana because of its tradition of name-checking outlaws, bandits, and cartel leaders.—
Julyssa Lopez,
Rolling Stone,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Police arrested one of four snowball bandits caught on camera clobbering the cops with snow.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Intense interest persists around his murder because the assassin has never been caught.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Shapiro is Jewish and was targeted by a would-be assassin who firebombed the governor's mansion last year.—
John Wisely,
Freep.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Casani is a legend at JPL and NASA, and his story reads like a combination of a spaceflight adventure, personal memoir, and a pirate's tale.—
Space.com Staff,
Space.com,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Magic Kingdom’s Beak and Barrel explores a pirate theme with a storyline, an animatronic bird named Rummy, a limited menu (but with octopus tentacles), both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and a time limit of 45 minutes.—
Dewayne Bevil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Toughie.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toughie. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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