as in bandit
formal + old-fashioned
a person who commits robbery usually as part of a group
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Recent Examples of brigand
As did most of the 4,500 caught in the region as feds traveled willy-nilly originally from their base at Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, like roving bands of masked brigands seeking human loot.
—
Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
Then rumors started spreading about armed brigands that would come to town to steal what little harvest folks had left, so towns raised militias to fight back.
—Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 24 Sep. 2025
Captured by brigands, the immigrants are herded into a remote Libyan prison camp where they are tormented and tortured.
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb. 2024
Saúl is a brigand while Isabella is a noblewoman, and the tale tells of the couple’s struggle as their families oppose their union.
—Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022
Scavenger is a brigand Gawain encounters on his journey.
—BostonGlobe.com, 30 July 2021
The ruler tops out at seven feet six inches, suggesting an absolutely colossal brigand.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2021
Across the pastures, gangs of grandchildren ran like brigands.
—Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Oct. 2019
Looking eastward, the notion that Iran, which took hundreds of thousands of casualties in repelling an Iraqi juggernaut in the 1980s, is going to melt in terror in the face of several thousand ISIS brigands is absurd.
—Steven Simon, Foreign Affairs, 26 Aug. 2014
Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
Then rumors started spreading about armed brigands that would come to town to steal what little harvest folks had left, so towns raised militias to fight back.
—Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 24 Sep. 2025
Captured by brigands, the immigrants are herded into a remote Libyan prison camp where they are tormented and tortured.
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb. 2024
Saúl is a brigand while Isabella is a noblewoman, and the tale tells of the couple’s struggle as their families oppose their union.
—Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022
Scavenger is a brigand Gawain encounters on his journey.
—BostonGlobe.com, 30 July 2021
The ruler tops out at seven feet six inches, suggesting an absolutely colossal brigand.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2021
Across the pastures, gangs of grandchildren ran like brigands.
—Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Oct. 2019
Looking eastward, the notion that Iran, which took hundreds of thousands of casualties in repelling an Iraqi juggernaut in the 1980s, is going to melt in terror in the face of several thousand ISIS brigands is absurd.
—Steven Simon, Foreign Affairs, 26 Aug. 2014
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brigand
Noun
-
The authentic Denver and Rio Grande train that has operated at Knott’s since 1952 boasts the highest crime rate in all of Orange County with the notorious Ghost Town bandits robbing every departure from the Calico Square depot.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Whiskey Row celebrates Prescott's Old West history, with saloons once occupied by outlaws and bandits.—
Paige Moore,
AZCentral.com,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Shortly before midnight on May 23, 1798, highwaymen just north of Dublin intercepted and set on fire a mail coach headed to Belfast.—
Joseph Patrick Kelly,
The Conversation,
20 May 2025
-
The sybaritic highwayman Macheath maneuvers between a cutthroat capitalist milieu (Mr. and Mrs. Peachum) and a corrupt police force (led by Tiger Brown) while seducing daughters from both worlds (Polly Peachum and Lucy Brown).—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
From the days of colonists and pirates to the more modern era (of, say, bankers and lawyers servicing offshore corporations), its touristic charms have gone largely unappreciated.—
John Bowe,
Travel + Leisure,
1 Feb. 2026
-
On the island’s western end, Fort Frederik is a spectacular example of an 18th-century Danish masonry fort, originally constructed to protect the natural deep-water port from pirates and rival nations.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Immigration and Integration Minister Rasmus Stoklund said 315 foreign criminals from countries outside the European Union had received sentences of more than a year over the last five years but were not expelled.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
-
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment, but officials there have broadly defended the department’s actions as not only justified but necessary for ensuring the rule of law and holding alleged criminals to account.—
Kevin Rector,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Miller called him an assassin on social media; Vice President JD Vance reposted the message.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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The 384-page hardcover focuses on the game's main antagonist, crime lord Jaylen Vrax, and his intimidating assassin droid ND-5.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Her band Freda & the Firedogs, an outlaw country group, came together in 1972 as the genre was gaining traction in early ‘70s Austin.—
Mars Salazar,
Austin American Statesman,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The coalition’s lawsuit also opposed other parts of Senate Bill 202, including provisions that outlaw intentionally observing a voter casting a ballot and prohibit ballot photography.—
Caleb Groves,
AJC.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The committee voted to fully fund payments to jails, which have housed some offenders as a backup, and for medical payments.—
The Denver Post,
Denver Post,
31 Jan. 2026
-
An Illinois man faces child pornography charges in Waukesha County under a new Wisconsin law that aims to punish offenders who use artificial intelligence to generate explicit images.—
Chris Ramirez,
jsonline.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Another alleged member of the Latin Kings was charged in federal court in the District of Minnesota this month with being a felon in possession of a firearm and theft of government property after breaking into an FBI vehicle and stealing a rifle.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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Pharr faces charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Brigand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brigand. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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