as in bandit
old-fashioned
a violent criminal who is not afraid of getting hurt or caught
A documentary about some notorious desperados of the Wild West.
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Recent Examples of desperado
The series revival, based Elmore Leonard’s novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit, has Givens on a collision course with Clement Mansell — aka The Oklahoma Wildman — a desperado played by Boyd Holbrook, who’s already eluded a Motor City police task force on his heels.
—
Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 May 2023
The Oklahoma Wildman, a violent, sociopathic desperado who's already slipped through the fingers of Detroit's finest once and aims to do so again with the help of his formidable lawyer Carolyn Wilder (Aunjanue Ellis).
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 11 May 2023
The lore of Arizona includes everything from Native stories to supernatural occurrences to tales of desperados.
—Thomas France, The Arizona Republic, 3 Apr. 2023
Senior desperado is the look.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 3 Sep. 2021
See All Example Sentences for desperado
Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 May 2023
The Oklahoma Wildman, a violent, sociopathic desperado who's already slipped through the fingers of Detroit's finest once and aims to do so again with the help of his formidable lawyer Carolyn Wilder (Aunjanue Ellis).
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 11 May 2023
The lore of Arizona includes everything from Native stories to supernatural occurrences to tales of desperados.
—Thomas France, The Arizona Republic, 3 Apr. 2023
Senior desperado is the look.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 3 Sep. 2021
See All Example Sentences for desperado
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desperado
Noun
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With Kelby Collins coming in as a transfer, there’s enough depth at bandit for Latham to spend more time at wolf.—
Kennington Smith III,
The Athletic,
26 Feb. 2025
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Try to distract the bandits one at a time until everyone but Casper is left.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Hackman was among the most accomplished actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.—
SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN,
arkansasonline.com,
2 Mar. 2025
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There are spells, curses, vendettas, a twist villain, giant dragons who turn into humanoid warriors and many other creatures populating the world of this gargantuan feat of eye-popping computer animation.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
2 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Potgieter is usually a monster off the tee, leading the tour in driving distance coming into the week.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
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The soldiers, both in the streets and at guard posts, fired their weapons, trying to prevent the moon from being eaten by a mythical monster frog called Reahou.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
6 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The music inspires its creatures, and vice versa — like the Altamaha-ha, a legendary water beast that hails from stories told around the Altamaha River in Georgia.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
6 Mar. 2025
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At his peak, Bosa was a beast to keep out of opponents’ backfields.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Orange County Register,
6 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desperado.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperado. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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