as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
a couple of hoodlums held up the convenience store
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hoodlum
When Jennifer Lawrence isn’t full-frontally beating the bejesus out of insouciant hoodlums, that is.
—
Charles Bramesco, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2025
However, their dreams are threatened by the hoodlums in the Riverbottom Gang.
—EW.com, 30 Nov. 2024
During the same year, Lansky joined Mafia hoodlum Joe Adonis in the operation of a major bootleg liquor operation in New York, apparently his first close association with the Mafia.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025
Those secrets created De Niro’s glorified and most memorable street hoodlums and now befuddle his current crazy-man public image.
—Armond White, National Review, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hoodlum
Charles Bramesco, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2025
However, their dreams are threatened by the hoodlums in the Riverbottom Gang.
—EW.com, 30 Nov. 2024
During the same year, Lansky joined Mafia hoodlum Joe Adonis in the operation of a major bootleg liquor operation in New York, apparently his first close association with the Mafia.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025
Those secrets created De Niro’s glorified and most memorable street hoodlums and now befuddle his current crazy-man public image.
—Armond White, National Review, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hoodlum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoodlum
Noun
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But throwing out our precious rights and freedoms, and allowing masked, unidentified thugs to roam our streets detaining people at will is absolutely not the answer.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 June 2025
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In an empty warehouse somewhere, McKenna leaves Stabler alone with Vincent Mathis, Emery’s thug.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
12 June 2025
Noun
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Mohammed's character Hugh has to snort cocaine during the trio's initial meeting with the gangster Fly (Paddy Considine) to prove that the trio aren't posers.—
Ralphie Aversa,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
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His father was a Genovese gangster murdered by the Colombo crime family in retaliation for committing two slayings — a story people told Pappa as a child — and his stepfather was locked up for drug and tax evasion charges.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
9 June 2025
Noun
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Their records contain sensitive personal information, that, if leaked, could allow criminals to steal the identities of unsuspecting customers.—
Theo Burman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 June 2025
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Cruz, the son of an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who came to the U.S. in the 1970s, said he’s angered by the federal government’s portrayal that anyone without documents living in the United States is a criminal.—
Summer Lin,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2025
Noun
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Welcome to the Post-Trust Era A social media app isn’t the villain.—
Ankush Chowdhary,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
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Clayface is shape-shifting villain in the Batman comics and got his introduction as part of Detective Comics #40 in June 1940.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
17 June 2025
Noun
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Ensure Robust Model Management In healthcare, AI reliability demands robust model management—continuous monitoring, causal inference in production, multi-arm bandit testing and human-in-the-loop oversight.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
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There were corridos about the exploits of bandits and outlaws, some of them Robin Hood-esque characters who outwitted oafish authorities and helped the poor.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hoodlum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoodlum. Accessed 23 Jun. 2025.
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