as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
London bobbies clearing the streets of hooligans
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hooligan
More menacingly, anti-Semitic Polish-nationalist hooligans have mounting success enforcing a boycott against Jewish merchants in villages across the region.
—
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2025
After the know-nothing county board opts to raze the baseball diamond to make way for a school, the teams meet for one final game at their beloved Soldier’s Field, with girlfriends, kids, and local hooligans as intermittent spectators.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 7 Mar. 2025
Listen to this article Two headphone-snatching hooligans are being sought for robbing seven people in a weeklong spree in lower Manhattan and Staten Island, police said Thursday.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 20 Feb. 2025
These hooligans have been depicted and glamourised in cult British films Green Street and The Football Factory.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hooligan
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2025
After the know-nothing county board opts to raze the baseball diamond to make way for a school, the teams meet for one final game at their beloved Soldier’s Field, with girlfriends, kids, and local hooligans as intermittent spectators.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 7 Mar. 2025
Listen to this article Two headphone-snatching hooligans are being sought for robbing seven people in a weeklong spree in lower Manhattan and Staten Island, police said Thursday.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 20 Feb. 2025
These hooligans have been depicted and glamourised in cult British films Green Street and The Football Factory.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hooligan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hooligan
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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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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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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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
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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Critics say police gave up when the rioting erupted in 1992, letting big chunks of the city burn while looters and hoodlums ruled.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2025
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His hoodlum phase in New York was re-created at the Lenox Lounge in Harlem.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
2 May 2025
Noun
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Porch pirates Mail theft in Virginia will soon be a Class 6 felony, which means people caught stealing mail or packages can be punished by imprisonment for one to five years and/or a fine of up to $2,500.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
22 June 2025
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Over the centuries, Spanish conquistadors brought horses whose descendants now roam wild; the pirate Blackbeard fought his final sea battle near Ocracoke Island in the south; and the Wright Brothers took their first successful flight.—
Kate Lewis,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hooligan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hooligan. Accessed 26 Jun. 2025.
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