Thesaurus results for TOUGHIES

toughies

noun

plural of toughie

as in thugs

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

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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 toughies 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for toughies

Noun

The residents occasionally gather in a disused rec center but the meetings devolve into rants about immigrants, junkies, thugs and vigilantism.

— Jessica Kiang, Variety, 26 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of thugs

Noun

The way it’s framed, both the heroes and the villains can only come from the tech community.

— Rumman Chowdhury, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2026
There aren’t any villains here, just young people making young people mistakes and older people making older people mistakes.

— Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of villains

Noun

Removing violent criminals, gang members, cartel members and those who refuse to work is wise and popular policy.

— Don Bacon, Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2026
Americans have demonized us as criminals, buffoons, lechers, invaders, criminals and job stealers since the fall of the Alamo.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

Somebody like Gilroy or Jeff Kober and Barry Corbin (popping up occasionally as a pair of geriatric gangsters) will come and go in situations knowingly designed to feel contrived.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
And the next thing, a knock come at the door and these gangsters come in with guns.

— Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of gangsters

Noun

In that version, the character is played by Joe Don Baker, the great character actor known for playing toughs in films like Walking Tall (1973) and Fletch (1985).

— Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
So, while Rue and Maddy are confabbing over milkshakes in a diner, Alamo sends Rue off for a drive with his two toughs, G (Marshawn Lynch) and the icy Bishop (Darrell Britt-Gibson).

— Marlow Stern, Variety, 11 May 2026

Definition of toughs

Noun

Still, despite the typical procedural formula with cases tied to gun smugglers, cartel assassins and kidnappings, the show remains topical enough to keep viewers engaged.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 25 Sep. 2026
To that end, the presence of Kyle Soller and MyAnna Buring as the two assassins targeting the Slow Horses has been the new season’s most consistently chilling development.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of assassins

Browse Nearby Words

toughie

toughies

toughing it out

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“Toughies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toughies. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of toughies

noun

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