Synonyms of toughs

toughs

noun

plural of tough

as in thugs

a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang

didn't want her son hanging out with the neighborhood toughs

Synonyms & Similar Words

• thugs
• gangsters
• criminals
• bandits
• villains
• ruffians
• hoodlums
• assassins
• pirates
• rowdies
• roughnecks
• thieves
• bullies
• hooligans
• goons
• punks
• offenders
• mobsters
• hoods
• gorillas
• toughies
• gangbangers
• gangstas
• yobs
• yobbos
• plug-uglies
• cutthroats
• robbers
• outlaws
• scoundrels
• desperadoes
• perpetrators
• brigands
• crooks
• felons
• mafiosi
• highwaymen
• vandals
• racketeers
• gunmen
• mugs
• lawbreakers
• bravos
• pickpockets
• malefactors
• swindlers
• perps
• tearaways
• juvenile delinquents

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of toughs

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

The gangland drama is deeper and darker than the domestic one, strengthened by the unexpected portrayal of the Russian toughs as bumbling in their own way. — Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026

Cazale played the title character, an older man who becomes lost in Manhattan and is harassed by two young toughs, one of whom was portrayed by Pacino. — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Mar. 2026

The local toughs, led by the sadistic Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland), are headed the same way, albeit for different reasons. — Sezin Devi Koehler September 1, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025