as in bandits
formal + old-fashioned
a person who commits robbery usually as part of a group
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Recent Examples of brigands
Their captors beset by these foreign brigands, Larys and Aegon manage to escape.
—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2026
Their stories live on in Sardinian lore with an almost mythical quality, the brigands admired for their intractability.
—
IEEE Spectrum,
7 May 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
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2026
Their stories live on in Sardinian lore with an almost mythical quality, the brigands admired for their intractability.
—
IEEE Spectrum,
7 May 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brigands
Noun
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Instead, most are romantic stories about young lovers separated by fate, and the rest are swashbuckling adventures full of bandits and pirates.
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Fantastical adventures ensue as the pair encounter a mysterious woman, Alexandra, who has lost her son, along with coyotes, bandits, and some pretty big secrets.
Noun
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Supporters will argue that criminals should not be able to hide behind wallets.
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And just like Alito, some members of my family have forgotten our history and support Trump or favor some of his immigration policies, dismissing new arrivals as criminals or lazy.
Noun
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The age of sail, when pirates like Johnny Depp’s fictional Jack Sparrow roamed the seven seas, ended about 200 years ago.
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Eight pages later, Leucippe has to fake her own beheading to escape from pirates.
Noun
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Most are not desperados on the run.
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These are desperadoes in the White House.
Noun
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These artisans, with their trade secrets, were kept on Murano, a cluster of islands just across the lagoon from the city, ostensibly as a precaution against fire, though the state would also send assassins after anyone who tried to leave.
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Unfortunately, Daemon’s hired assassins killed Aegon’s young son Jaehaerys instead so any real possibility for a family reconciliation was lost.
Noun
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Deputies responded to the area and identified an undisclosed number of juveniles as the offenders, officials said.
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Survivors have fought for a full public account of priests, with San Francisco the only diocese in the state that has not released such a list of clergy abuse offenders.
Noun
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The series has lent a cinematic gangster attraction to the Peaky Blinders, yet the term itself was not one gang — as depicted in the show — but a generic expression from the late 19th century for the ‘street ruffians’ of Birmingham, born out of the city’s ring of poverty.
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In fact, the GTW ruffians have to give the Big Honey some props for his relative restraint in the heat of the moment.
Noun
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Charles Cioffi, the veteran character actor who portrayed lots of cops and crooks in projects including Klute, Shaft, Get Christie Love!
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Per the logline, in Season 2 the Dars are drowning in dirty cash and Philly’s sketchiest crooks are circling.
Cite this Entry
“Brigands.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brigands. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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