as in gang
a group involved in secret or criminal activities the local Mafia largely finances itself through extortion rackets and drug trafficking

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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 Mafia The Alto Knights is titled after a local Mafia social-club hangout, as if suggesting an ode to bygone camaraderie. Armond White, National Review, 21 Mar. 2025 So how about De Niro playing not one but two Mafia kingpins in the same movie? Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2025 Interest in details related to Kennedy's assassination has been intense over the decades, with countless conspiracy theories spawned about multiple shooters and involvement by the Soviet Union and Mafia. arkansasonline.com, 20 Mar. 2025 The Costello-Genovese civil war culminates in the 1957 Mafia summit known as the Apalachin meeting. Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 20 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for Mafia
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Mafia
Noun
  • The Trump administration has also sent Salvadoran nationals it’s accused of being members of the MS-13 gang to CECOT.
    Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Amid the chaos, police officers and members of the public have been on a hunt for gang members.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Harry sits at the head of the table between the Dogan and the Lazaro crime syndicates, who are at each other’s throats.
    Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 28 Mar. 2025
  • The drama is tracking the story of spy agency Citadel and its powerful enemy syndicate, Manticore.
    Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 28 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Lori Vallow Daybell convicted of murder Vallow Daybell was charged in May 2021 with the murders of her children and conspiracy to commit the murder of Tammy Daybell.
    Miguel Torres, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Nearly two years after her initial sentencing in Idaho, Lori is now preparing for her trial in Arizona after being charged with one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the 2019 death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.
    Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 6 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • In Gilead and real life, when everything is stripped away from a group of people, even their names in the case of the Handmaids, the result is a dangerous mob with nothing to lose.
    Dana Feldman, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025
  • Gabriela Jaquez made sure to marinate in this moment, bouncing gleefully toward half-court while her teammates formed a joyous mob.
    Austin Knoblauch, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • This public generational saga goes from ancestral investigation (the Fonda clan migrated from Holland to upstate New York in 1654, then Nebraska, where Henry was born) to cultural exegesis.
    Armond White, National Review, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Members of the Kennedy clan have held positions at nearly every level of government.
    Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Visa isn’t the only big credit card network treating fraud as not only a threat, but a business opportunity.
    Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 30 Mar. 2025
  • The series is also heralded for defying network expectations and knocking down barriers for Black comedy on mainstream television, as well as generating a host of beloved characters.
    Toria Sheffield, People.com, 30 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Mafia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Mafia. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.

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