as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
London bobbies clearing the streets of hooligans
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Recent Examples of hooligan
Banning orders — whereby passports have to be handed in before any England fixture abroad — have also been used to keep the hooligans away, while the Football Association insist tickets are only sold through the official supporters travel club.
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Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 13 July 2024
Right-wing legislators and nationalist soccer hooligans held a heated demonstration outside the military court near the southern city of Ashkelon.
—Amos Harel, Foreign Affairs, 8 June 2016
Ticking off the Traction Control also allowed my inner hooligan to loft the front wheel a wee bit in first and second gear as the Kawasaki quickly built revs.
—William Roberson, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2024
Gatherings of white men in particular have historically cultivated an ominous vibe: think the Unite the Right rally, many European land wars, English football hooligans, or Congress.
—Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 30 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for hooligan 
Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 13 July 2024
Right-wing legislators and nationalist soccer hooligans held a heated demonstration outside the military court near the southern city of Ashkelon.
—Amos Harel, Foreign Affairs, 8 June 2016
Ticking off the Traction Control also allowed my inner hooligan to loft the front wheel a wee bit in first and second gear as the Kawasaki quickly built revs.
—William Roberson, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2024
Gatherings of white men in particular have historically cultivated an ominous vibe: think the Unite the Right rally, many European land wars, English football hooligans, or Congress.
—Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 30 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for hooligan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hooligan
Noun
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The proximate cause of the war crimes chronicled in Han’s novels is South Korea’s succession of authoritarian governments, their soldiers and police; on Jeju Island, these were joined by gangs of right-wing thugs.Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025
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Yes, that is Canet playing the paragliding avenger, Franck, who’s trying to free his abducted pregnant wife, Léo (Stéphane Caillard), from a blackmailing thug.Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Other potential responses focus on the perpetrators rather than the puppeteers, prosecuting the petty criminals who carry out acts of sabotage or, in the Baltic Sea, boarding and impounding the offending vessel, as Finland did recently, and following up with a court case.Tamar Jacoby, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
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In her petition, Conley wrote that deploying CHP officers and Solano County sheriff's deputies to Vallejo could help address crime, serve as a deterrent to potential criminals and provide support to an overworked police force.Louis Casiano, Fox News, 6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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His family told the local press that the man responsible for his death was a gangster from a rival group who had been living in exile in South Africa.Matthew Bremner, Rolling Stone, 5 Jan. 2025
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The group’s chairman is John Chan, a former Chinatown gangster convicted of human trafficking and drug smuggling charges in the mid-2000s who has since become influential in New York politics.Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 4 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Several warring factions exist within the Zone, as well as lone bandits and stalkers.Issy van der Velde, Rolling Stone, 20 Nov. 2024
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Nationwide, charging executives say the issue is more pronounced in urban centers, with particularly consistent problems in Las Vegas, Seattle, and Oakland, California. RELATED: Magid: EV shoppers finally have plenty of choices Many of these cord bandits are on the hunt for copper.Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 24 Sep. 2024
Noun
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Also tossed in are picturesque but gratuitous use of famous tourist landmarks as background, near-superheroic training montages, credible intimate character dynamics, a ruthless villain (Johan Heldenbergh as Vanaken) and action that in the home stretch goes absurdly over-the-top.Dennis Harvey, Variety, 13 Jan. 2025
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And though Young and (especially) the perpetrators of the massacre are clearly the villains of the piece, their past history at least partly explains their choices.Keith Phipps, Vulture, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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However, their dreams are threatened by the hoodlums in the Riverbottom Gang.EW.com, EW.com, 30 Nov. 2024
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While Muhammad Ali made his professional boxing comeback with a win against Jerry Quarry at Atlanta’s Municipal Auditorium on October 26, 1970, a group of hoodlums robbed the Black Mafia of more than $1 million in cash and jewelry at a nearby after-party.Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2024
Noun
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In the finale, the kids are able to contact the New Republic to warn them about the pirates, and permanently drop the barrier around the planet, revealing the existence of At Attin for the first time to the rest of the galaxy.Adam B. Vary, Variety, 17 Jan. 2025
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The port quickly became successful, attracting pirates, including the infamous Blackbeard, who used the island’s geography to launch surprise attacks on passing ships.Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 17 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near hooligan
Cite this Entry
“Hooligan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hooligan. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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