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
Actually, the two would-be desperadoes might have fared better going up against the late, great action star.
—
Joe Leydon, Variety, 3 Aug. 2023
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
See All Example Sentences for desperado
Joe Leydon, Variety, 3 Aug. 2023
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
See All Example Sentences for desperado
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desperado
Noun
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Players will have to keep an eye out for bandits and other hostiles in the area.—
Gieson Cacho,
The Mercury News,
10 Mar. 2025
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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
Noun
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Even when a big threat does arrive on the scene, the heroes aren't there right away, so plenty of innocent people get hurt before a villain gets brought to justice.—
John W. Dean,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Apr. 2025
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Whereas Serena could easily have emerged as a one-note villain, from the beginning of her tenure on the series, Strahovski has imbued Serena with a soulfulness that often puts the audience uncomfortably on her side, despite her reprehensible actions.—
Scarlett Harris,
IndieWire,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The space monsters are also entirely terrifying, gestating inside young suns to hideously emerge as massive space insects.—
Ollie Barder,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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Natalie and a real-estate agent named Dawn (Danielle Brooks), in search of the missing Henry, make their way to the Overworld, too, and the four team up with Steve in a painfully generic adventure to fight off monsters, find another Crystal, save the Overworld (and Dennis), and get back home.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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But this is the nature of the beast, and the reality of a team who just experienced the most disappointing year in franchise history.—
Shane Young,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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By trampling shrubs, the beasts would encourage the growth of grasses that are good at absorbing greenhouse gases.—
D. T. Max,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desperado.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desperado. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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