as in gangster
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
the Mob boss regularly sent his thugs after people who were slow to pay their debts
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Recent Examples of thug
The second season is a heart-pumping succession of such intricate action scenes in which Park and Han enthusiastically battle both monsters and thugs.
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Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024
The two end up on the run from National Security Forces, the Russian mob, and a group of clumsy street thugs and bikers led by a wannabe Mafia boss.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 1 July 2024
Powell helps McClane with advice and words of comfort as McClane faces off against terrorist Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his band of thugs.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 25 Sep. 2024
Neville is being more immediately threatened by the developer’s local thug, Egg (David St. Louis), completely amoral and frightening but with a lovely singing voice.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for thug 
Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024
The two end up on the run from National Security Forces, the Russian mob, and a group of clumsy street thugs and bikers led by a wannabe Mafia boss.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 1 July 2024
Powell helps McClane with advice and words of comfort as McClane faces off against terrorist Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his band of thugs.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 25 Sep. 2024
Neville is being more immediately threatened by the developer’s local thug, Egg (David St. Louis), completely amoral and frightening but with a lovely singing voice.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for thug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thug
Noun
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Many Japanese action films are too much about fantasy, either Yakuza [gangsters] or serial killers.Patrick Frater, Variety, 1 Nov. 2024
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Tyler takes aim at the masks people wear to hide from their true selves, evoking a middle-class gangster and a closeted religious zealot.Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Its undeniably a humanitarian crisis and a very real security threat because of drug cartels, criminals and terrorists crossing the border.Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Orange County Register, 5 Nov. 2024
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The Jordanians will soar like eagles to hunt you down, one criminal after another.Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Marlena’s John is an iconic hero, and unfailingly rescuing her from all matter of villains.Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2024
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The film stars, of all people, Hugh Grant, who is said to have an amazing turn as a villain in the film.Paul Tassi, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Harris' lead is driven by older women voters and women independents. Nov. 3: Trump escalates violent rhetoric, suggesting at a Pennsylvania rally that an assassin would have to shoot through the news media to hit him.Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024
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And during this year’s election, the FBI foiled a plot by Iran to pay an assassin $1 million to kill Donald Trump.Brian Bennett, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
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But the pandemic-era inflationary period played out unlike any other in history, and wealthy people made out like bandits.Allison Morrow, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024
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When the film starts, a cursed bandit of pirates led by Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) are aboard Sparrow’s former ship, the Black Pearl, and have kidnapped Turner’s love interest, Elizabeth Swann (Knightley).Yasmeen Hamadeh, People.com, 27 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Statewide, after national media for years showed images of thieves ransacking drug stores, Californians approved a ballot measure that tightened penalties on theft.Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024
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Others, such as the Dickensian gang of thieves that briefly take George in, feel like they might have been airlifted in from a collegiate production of Oliver Twist.David Fear, Rolling Stone, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
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While Muhammad Ali made his professional boxing comeback with a win against Jerry Quarry at Atlanta’s Municipal Auditorium on October 26, 1970, a group of hoodlums robbed the Black Mafia of more than $1 million in cash and jewelry at a nearby after-party.Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2024
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The Chicago Crime Commission’s president was outraged when an Indiana prosecutor posed for a newspaper photographer with his arm around Dillinger earlier in 1934 while the hoodlum awaited trial for killing a police officer during a bank robbery.Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 21 July 2024
Noun
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Tickets went on sale Thursday for the illuminated tradition, a 1.5-mile crawl through the park with thousands of twinkling lights creating tunnels, elves, snowflakes, a basketball-tossing Santa, pirate ships and even dinosaurs.Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024
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One young girl stared slack-jawed in shock at Rodrigo while the other crew of kids with her — including a few Care Bears and a pirate — grabbed handfuls of treats from her bowl.Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 1 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Thug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thug. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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