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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of thug
Jewish people in the U.S. have adopted a position of ‘support Netanyahu and his thugs irrespective of the political cost’ approach.
—
Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 14 Mar. 2025
The thug in the seat next to him had 14 prior arrests and went by the name of killer.
—NPR, 5 Mar. 2025
Putin is a murderous KGB thug that murders his political enemies and is a dictator there.
—NBC News, 2 Mar. 2025
Coming up, Republican Mike Lawler is calling Vladimir Putin a vile dictator and thug.
—ABC News, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 14 Mar. 2025
The thug in the seat next to him had 14 prior arrests and went by the name of killer.
—NPR, 5 Mar. 2025
Putin is a murderous KGB thug that murders his political enemies and is a dictator there.
—NBC News, 2 Mar. 2025
Coming up, Republican Mike Lawler is calling Vladimir Putin a vile dictator and thug.
—ABC News, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thug
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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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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Tenoch Huerta Mejia Mejia debuted as the villain Namor in Wakanda Forever and was responsible for the death of Queen Romanda (Angela Bassett) in that film.—
Eliana Dockterman,
Time,
26 Mar. 2025
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There are no villains or scary scenes in this gentle story about a young witch finding her way in the world.—
Anna Earl,
Parents,
26 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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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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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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Cop said that, when confronted by a 48-year-old employee, the thief raised an arm at her in a menacing manner before running out the door.—
Ellen Moynihan,
New York Daily News,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
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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
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Some people told his family that Pereda went to a movie that night and a hoodlum told him someone outside wanted to see him.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
17 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
Cite this Entry
“Thug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thug. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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