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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of thug
Their reckless, soft-on-crime policies emboldened criminals and thugs; wreaked havoc on the sanctity of our homes, businesses, and public spaces; instilled fear; and jeopardized public trust.
—
Jenna Dejong, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
Every thug in the place was dying to get his hands on him.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 14 May 2025
According to the feds, at least two foreign thugs used the Yarmouth Resort as their base of operation.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 26 Mar. 2025
There’s no dearth of evil Imperial thugs in Andor — however, one character who seems to exist in a complicated moral gray is Lonni Jung (Robert Emms), a fellow ISB officer who attends Partagaz’s closed-door briefings alongside Dedra but relays the Empire’s plans to Luthen in secret.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Jenna Dejong, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
Every thug in the place was dying to get his hands on him.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 14 May 2025
According to the feds, at least two foreign thugs used the Yarmouth Resort as their base of operation.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 26 Mar. 2025
There’s no dearth of evil Imperial thugs in Andor — however, one character who seems to exist in a complicated moral gray is Lonni Jung (Robert Emms), a fellow ISB officer who attends Partagaz’s closed-door briefings alongside Dedra but relays the Empire’s plans to Luthen in secret.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thug
Noun
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Polish media have also reported on his connections to gangsters and the world of prostitution.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 May 2025
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Historically speaking, a half-Mexican woman isn’t usually the first in line to write a story about a violently ambitious gangster, which is what excited me most about it.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
28 May 2025
Noun
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Or even those Californians, such as many in San Francisco and Los Angeles, who are just fed up with the perception that California is soft on criminals.—
Anita Chabria,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2025
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To boost deportations, immigration officials have detained workers at their homes and jobs — a method that, in the past, had been reserved for only the most violent criminals.—
Ana Ley,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Noun
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New threats emerge, including a ruthless new villain (Bill Skarsgård) and a blind assassin from Wick’s past, played by Donnie Yen in a standout performance.—
Emily Blackwood,
People.com,
6 June 2025
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Nicholas Hoult plays the film’s villain, the megalomaniac super-genius Lex Luthor.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
5 June 2025
Noun
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New threats emerge, including a ruthless new villain (Bill Skarsgård) and a blind assassin from Wick’s past, played by Donnie Yen in a standout performance.—
Emily Blackwood,
People.com,
6 June 2025
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The operation, made up of Belarusian contract killers, runs a ballet academy that is a front for their assassin training facility.—
Shannon Carlin,
Time,
6 June 2025
Noun
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There were corridos about the exploits of bandits and outlaws, some of them Robin Hood-esque characters who outwitted oafish authorities and helped the poor.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2025
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The Golden State Warriors came out like bandits to open the third quarter of Game 2 on Thursday, pulling to within seven of the Timberwolves early in the frame at Target Center.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
9 May 2025
Noun
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In Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning (2023), Atwell made her debut as Grace, a thief with questionable loyalties who becomes Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) new ally.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
23 May 2025
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The film features our beloved returning team members (Luther, Benji, and Ilsa) as well as new faces like the enigmatic thief Grace (Hayley Atwell); Gabriel (Esai Morales), an assassin who knew Ethan in his pre-IMF life; and Denlinger (Cary Elwes), the Director of National Intelligence.—
Will Harris,
EW.com,
23 May 2025
Noun
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His hoodlum phase in New York was re-created at the Lenox Lounge in Harlem.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
2 May 2025
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The gang specialized in hijacking cars and guarding bootleg liquor shipments for other hoodlums during the Prohibition era.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The Sea Witch By Eva Leigh Canary Street Press: 448 pages, $19 (Aug. 26) Leigh has penned a pirate romantasy with an ultra-hot relationship at its center.—
Lorraine Berry,
Los Angeles Times,
27 May 2025
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However, the sugars in a molasses spray caused an increase of beneficial insects such as adult lacewings, lady beetles, weevil parasitoids, big-eyed bugs, minute pirate bugs, and adult hover flies.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
24 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thug. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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