Thesaurus results for THUG

thug

noun

ˈthəg

Definition of thug

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of thug That a Christian man was responsible for the devastation in Oklahoma City certainly didn’t matter to the thugs who terrorized a Muslim woman there, nearly seven months pregnant, by attacking her home, breaking her windows, screaming religious slurs. — Reshma Memon Yaqub, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026 On a cold night in November 2011, in a field outside Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, a gang of thugs stormed a Soviet scientific research institute, beat and humiliated the staff and burned the place to the ground. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026 Meanwhile, Kyle and his usual pair of special-forces thugs track down a suspiciously large plane (as in, big enough to fly across the Atlantic) and an equally suspicious flight manifest. — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2026 Gail Bean and Isaiah John return to their roles as Wanda Bell and Leon Simmons, who are guiding the drug trade into the 1990s as gangsta rap goes mainstream and street thugs become music millionaires. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 4 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for thug

Recent Examples of Synonyms for thug

Noun

New owners Jeremy Fall and Sean Maloney plan to preserve its historic character — and the booth gangster Mickey Cohen preferred — while adding dishes such as fresh ravioli and prime rib frites.

— Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
For decades, Hollywood actor Danny Trejo’s bread and butter was playing gangsters, prison inmates and other assorted criminals.

— Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of gangster

Noun

This can help prevent criminals from opening new credit accounts using your information.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Ford placed the inmate’s bid for clemency on the agenda of the state pardons board — an example, Lombardo claims, of the way Ford treats criminals.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of criminal

Noun

Still, this villain’s origin story works better as a showcase for effects than anything tragic.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Directed by Grammy Award-winning filmmaker James Mackel, the visual is three-and-a-half minutes of spy stuff, our hero, dressed to impress, making short work of the many villains who lurk in her hotel.

— Lars Brandle, Billboard, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of villain

Noun

Jason Statham is back in action as former government assassin Adam Clay in the buzzy trailer for The Beekeeper 2, which Amazon MGM Studios dropped on Thursday.

— Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
The alleged plot targeting Pannun unfolded at the same time that Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another prominent Sikh separatist and friend of Pannun, was gunned down and killed in June 2023 by assassins outside his gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.

— Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of assassin

Noun

In The Death of Robin Hood, Hugh Jackman plays the bandit of Nottingham, aged and retired to a hermit's life in the wilderness.

— K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026
The father pulls over, and the car is immediately swarmed over by bandits, who brutally kill him — plus his wife and two kids — with no mercy.

— Damon Wise, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of bandit

Noun

French President Emmanuel Macron gave a warning this week that thieves would be apprehended.

— Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
The new series picks up four years later, as Assane is released and pledges to go straight and repair his relationship with his family, only for a copycat thief to once more drag him to the criminal side.

— K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of thief

Noun

His warning was meant for American eyes and ears at least as much — if not more so — than for the government in Jerusalem that until now has encouraged the hoodlums by tolerating their violence.

— Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026
Also in his orbit are a consortium of crooks, including his cousin Freddie, a hip junkie, and Pepper, a taciturn hoodlum who was friends with Ray’s dad, Big Mike, a legendary thief.

— Niela Orr, Vulture, 20 July 2026

Definition of hoodlum

Noun

Wild to me though that something that expensive would just be dropped off with porch pirates out there.

— Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Jamal convened a press conference proclaiming to be able to communicate by phone with Somali pirates who were holding a Nigerian ship hostage.

— Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of pirate

Browse Nearby Words

thuds

thug

thugs

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Style

“Thug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thug. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of thug

noun

Example Sentences

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