as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
a gang of ruffians preying upon people who ventured into that section of town
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ruffian
And then there was Post Malone, the rapping, rocking everyman who has replaced Kid Rock as America’s favorite ruffian.
—
Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2024
Read More: Fans React to Beyoncé's New Album Cowboy Carter
Once seen as ruffians and pushed to the outskirts of Victorian society, cowboys were reinvented as rugged cultural heroes in the American consciousness in the early 20th century through dime novels, rodeos, movies, and more.
—TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
The building, erected in 1915 as the Rieger Hotel, served traveling salesmen, railroad ruffians and gangsters in the early 20th Century.
—David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2024
And America’s democratic allies, who well understand the importance of U.S. democratic leadership to the global cause of freedom, have been badly shaken by the images of ruffians rampaging through the world’s most powerful democratic assembly
Get unlimited access to all Foreign Affairs.
—Larry Diamond, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2021
See All Example Sentences for ruffian
Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2024
Read More: Fans React to Beyoncé's New Album Cowboy Carter
Once seen as ruffians and pushed to the outskirts of Victorian society, cowboys were reinvented as rugged cultural heroes in the American consciousness in the early 20th century through dime novels, rodeos, movies, and more.
—TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
The building, erected in 1915 as the Rieger Hotel, served traveling salesmen, railroad ruffians and gangsters in the early 20th Century.
—David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2024
And America’s democratic allies, who well understand the importance of U.S. democratic leadership to the global cause of freedom, have been badly shaken by the images of ruffians rampaging through the world’s most powerful democratic assembly
Get unlimited access to all Foreign Affairs.
—Larry Diamond, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2021
See All Example Sentences for ruffian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruffian
Noun
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Jesse, understandably, has become more defensive about antisemitism since he was brutally attacked by thugs who singled him out for being Jewish.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2025
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The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen, who are hated by the Yemeni people, all emanate from, and are created by, IRAN.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
18 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Majors also played the mega villain He Who Remains in Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaia.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
26 Mar. 2025
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As previously announced, Robert Downey Jr. will be back as the villain Doctor Doom instead of Iron Man.—
Michaela Zee,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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There were radicals, activists, intellectuals as well as common criminals, the usual power brokers, and always a mob lurking in the background.—
Phil Terrana,
Baltimore Sun,
20 Mar. 2025
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The company entices the criminal to click on a tracking link, which provides information about their location.—
Rachel Hale,
USA TODAY,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Meanwhile, the prince has his own group of seven bandits, in which people with dwarfism are represented.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
21 Mar. 2025
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After the kiss in Snow White, the princess emerges from what was supposed to be her eternal slumber to enlist the seven dwarfs, as well as Jonathan and his fellow bandits to lead an uprising to take down the Evil Queen.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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An hour ago, the stocky British actor best known on these shores for playing tough guys and gangsters was on a morning talk show, after having chatted with Jimmy Fallon the previous evening.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
22 Mar. 2025
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Dealing with the fractious relationship between gangsters and former friends Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, the film strains for an epic quality that the filmmaking doesn’t support.—
Frank Scheck,
The Hollywood Reporter,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Travelers can also visit the San Felipe Fort for a dose of pirate history, then unwind in the slow-moving current of the natural lazy river Los Rápidos.—
Meagan Drillinger,
AFAR Media,
28 Mar. 2025
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Elementary School Kids can step into the world of pirates at The North Carolina Maritime Museum, where artifacts from Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge ship live.—
Roger Sands,
Forbes,
2 Mar. 2025
Noun
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This stony assassin may well be orbiting the sun at this very moment, careening down a celestial path that could, one day, intersect with ours.—
Corinne Purtill,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2025
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Police cars arrived within minutes and the assassin was arrested.—
Rachel DeSantis,
People.com,
22 Mar. 2025
Noun
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In this British-American heist comedy, a group of jewel thieves—including con artist Wanda Gershwitz (Jamie Lee Curtis), her lover Otto West (Kevin Kline), stuttering animal lover Ken Pile (Michael Palin) and gang leader George Thomason (Tom Georgeson)—pull off a major diamond robbery in London.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes,
22 Mar. 2025
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Laundry detergent is a top target for thieves, according to the National Retail Federation's 2024 National Retail Security Survey.—
Alayna Alvarez,
Axios,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ruffian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruffian. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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