as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
the argument that the DEA needs to focus more on the kingpins of the drug trade and less on the gangbangers in the street
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Recent Examples of gangbanger
Murdered within about six months of each other at the height of their fame in the 1990s, their deaths spawned conspiracy theories of hitmen, coverups and cops on gangbangers’ payrolls.
—
Veronica Bravo, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
This is quite the new phenomenon for all the gangbangers, fentanyl dealers, girlfriend-beaters, drunk drivers and pedophiles — going to church.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 17 Aug. 2025
The indictment against the gangbangers, which was unsealed on June 16, follows a Fox News Digital report from April revealing that local leaders were sounding the alarm about the 18th Street Gang sweeping in to take control of the area.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 10 July 2025
During the public comment period at an October meeting, a concerned community member told the Cudahy City Council that his neighborhood is plagued by drug dealing and gangbangers.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2025
In that film, Ice Cube is Doughboy, a gangbanger who loses first his brother and then his own life, both offerings in a fatalistic cycle of street vengeance.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 14 June 2025
Veronica Bravo, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
This is quite the new phenomenon for all the gangbangers, fentanyl dealers, girlfriend-beaters, drunk drivers and pedophiles — going to church.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 17 Aug. 2025
The indictment against the gangbangers, which was unsealed on June 16, follows a Fox News Digital report from April revealing that local leaders were sounding the alarm about the 18th Street Gang sweeping in to take control of the area.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 10 July 2025
During the public comment period at an October meeting, a concerned community member told the Cudahy City Council that his neighborhood is plagued by drug dealing and gangbangers.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2025
In that film, Ice Cube is Doughboy, a gangbanger who loses first his brother and then his own life, both offerings in a fatalistic cycle of street vengeance.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 14 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gangbanger
Noun
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We’re then introduced to Louie, a thug who works for a loan shark, threatening and killing people.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
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Their neighbor, an older Jewish woman, gets arrested and Nazi thugs brazenly loot her apartment.—
Rabih Alameddine
September 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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There’s also a tropical storm circulating, as if the gangsters flew in from the tropics.—
John Metcalfe,
Mercury News,
12 Sep. 2025
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Others are new, building on a genuinely fresh and funny revelation that explains not only a cold open involving yakuza gangsters half a world away in Osaka, but also why this quaint town is sitting on a stash of weaponry big enough to overthrow the governments of several small nations.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican running in the 2026 race for governor, said the ban showed Newsom and Democratic lawmakers care more about the safety of criminals than officers.—
Gerardo Zavala,
NPR,
20 Sep. 2025
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Now, Morgan faces her own enemies, including one criminal who starts to target her three children, crossing even her unconventional boundaries.—
Rebecca Aizin,
PEOPLE,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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There’d be scenes of Kerr making unlikely comebacks, of his coach delivering big speeches, of an obvious villain becoming his rival.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
20 Sep. 2025
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Star model Elton Ilirjani closed the show in a stunning black and crystal-covered suit with a long, dramatic cape, calling to mind a Dracula-esque villain look.—
Nadja Sayej,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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That assassin went on to seriously wound a colleague of Hortman and her husband and had a hit list of forty-four Democrats.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
19 Sep. 2025
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Disney, the parent company of ABC, removed the late-night comedian from its airwaves after a conservative outcry over Kimmel’s remarks about Charlie Kirk’s assassin culminated in public pressure from FCC Chair Brendan Carr.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In The Three Amigos, a trio of American actors who have played heroic gunslingers in a series of popular silent films, are accidentally hired by the villagers of Santa Poco to protect them from the villainous bandit leader, El Guapo, who kidnaps a beautiful villager to be his unwilling bride.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Over $200 Off NFL Sunday Ticket NFL fans can make out like bandits with the DraftKings Sportsbook welcome offer.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gangbanger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gangbanger. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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