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
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
Like Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Assad will be remembered as a thug who left his country on the brink of state failure.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025
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
The bowling aficionado then embarks on a dangerous quest with his bowling pals that sees him tussle with thugs, meet the real Big Lebowski, hide ransom money in his car, and most importantly, bowl.
—EW.com, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for thug 
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025
Like Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Assad will be remembered as a thug who left his country on the brink of state failure.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025
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
The bowling aficionado then embarks on a dangerous quest with his bowling pals that sees him tussle with thugs, meet the real Big Lebowski, hide ransom money in his car, and most importantly, bowl.
—EW.com, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for thug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thug
Noun
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Three Thai women were rescued after a group of Chinese gangsters enslaved them in the former Soviet republic of Georgia in order to harvest their eggs.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
11 Feb. 2025
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Ball of Fire also pairs up a gangster’s moll, Sugarpuss O’Shea (Barbara Stanwyck), and a professor, Bertram Potts (Gary Cooper) who work together trying to take down her mob boss boyfriend, all while falling in love.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
People.com,
10 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Many citizens have come to believe that for too long, the rights of criminals have trumped the rights of citizens to be safe and free from violence.—
Pioneer Press,
Twin Cities,
8 Feb. 2025
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Mosby, like other progressive prosecutors, bent laws to tilt the scales of justice in favor of criminals in the name of reform.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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This shortcoming extends to its assortment of villains who, despite including celebrity appearances like AEW wrestler Samoa Joe, fail to leave a memorable impression beyond being yet another obstacle on the way to the end credits.—
Isaiah Colbert,
Rolling Stone,
18 Feb. 2025
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More news: Warner Bros Delays 'The Batman 2' For a Third Time One of Batman's biggest foes is Clayface, a villain who can mold his body into a multitude of devastating shapes.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The pint-sized assassin pulls a gun out of her fuzzy heart throw pillow and gets to work.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
18 Feb. 2025
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Polls show skepticism remains about lone assassin theory The Justice Department and other federal government entities have reaffirmed conclusions that Oswald was solely responsible for the killing of the former president.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA TODAY,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
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This location can be found north of Tachov in the forests beside a bandit camp.—
Kristan Hawkins,
Newsweek,
6 Feb. 2025
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The bandit wheeled and snarled at Herod, exposing his rotting front teeth.—
Louis Menand,
The New Yorker,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The high price of eggs has consumers balking, grocery stores placing limits on what people can buy, and thieves treating them as if hen eggs were Faberge.—
Kevin Williams,
Quartz,
6 Feb. 2025
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Some Fort Worth neighborhoods keep losing internet for weeks because thieves have been stealing copper from cable lines.—
Tasha Tsiaperas,
Axios,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
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When Jennifer Lawrence isn’t full-frontally beating the bejesus out of insouciant hoodlums, that is.—
Charles Bramesco,
Vulture,
10 Feb. 2025
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However, their dreams are threatened by the hoodlums in the Riverbottom Gang.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
30 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Who didn't want to be like those kids going on adventures involving gangsters, pirate ships and best friends?—
Brian Truitt,
USA TODAY,
7 Feb. 2025
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Like a ‘pirate ship’ Goss has done four separate stints as a guardian in London, in an empty police station, a nursing home for the elderly, a student residence hall and, finally, a town hall.—
Anna Cooban,
CNN,
31 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near thug
Cite this Entry
“Thug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thug. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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