as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
a gang of ruffians preying upon people who ventured into that section of town
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ruffian
And then there was Post Malone, the rapping, rocking everyman who has replaced Kid Rock as America’s favorite ruffian.
—
Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2024
Read More: Fans React to Beyoncé's New Album Cowboy Carter
Once seen as ruffians and pushed to the outskirts of Victorian society, cowboys were reinvented as rugged cultural heroes in the American consciousness in the early 20th century through dime novels, rodeos, movies, and more.
—TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
The building, erected in 1915 as the Rieger Hotel, served traveling salesmen, railroad ruffians and gangsters in the early 20th Century.
—David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2024
And America’s democratic allies, who well understand the importance of U.S. democratic leadership to the global cause of freedom, have been badly shaken by the images of ruffians rampaging through the world’s most powerful democratic assembly
Get unlimited access to all Foreign Affairs.
—Larry Diamond, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2021
See All Example Sentences for ruffian
Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2024
Read More: Fans React to Beyoncé's New Album Cowboy Carter
Once seen as ruffians and pushed to the outskirts of Victorian society, cowboys were reinvented as rugged cultural heroes in the American consciousness in the early 20th century through dime novels, rodeos, movies, and more.
—TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
The building, erected in 1915 as the Rieger Hotel, served traveling salesmen, railroad ruffians and gangsters in the early 20th Century.
—David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2024
And America’s democratic allies, who well understand the importance of U.S. democratic leadership to the global cause of freedom, have been badly shaken by the images of ruffians rampaging through the world’s most powerful democratic assembly
Get unlimited access to all Foreign Affairs.
—Larry Diamond, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2021
See All Example Sentences for ruffian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruffian
Noun
-
The 20th-century Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is under siege from a greedy developer (James Bond star Timothy Dalton) and his thugs in the new season.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA TODAY,
24 Feb. 2025
-
But authorities now believe the most heinous acts were the handiwork of a one-time nursing student from Puerto Rico who evolved over a decade from teenage burglar to drug trafficker to rampaging thug.—
Martin E. Comas,
Orlando Sentinel,
30 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Hackman was among the most accomplished actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.—
SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN,
arkansasonline.com,
2 Mar. 2025
-
There are spells, curses, vendettas, a twist villain, giant dragons who turn into humanoid warriors and many other creatures populating the world of this gargantuan feat of eye-popping computer animation.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
2 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Only criminal hacking is a crime, and not all hackers are criminals.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
-
Officers says there are many reasons people use fake plates: criminals hoping to avoid being tracked by law enforcement, evading fines on toll roads, or people trying to find a way to drive without a driver’s license or insurance.—
Briah Lumpkins,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
With Kelby Collins coming in as a transfer, there’s enough depth at bandit for Latham to spend more time at wolf.—
Kennington Smith III,
The Athletic,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Try to distract the bandits one at a time until everyone but Casper is left.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
In her ethnographic study of Jamaican gangs, Jaffe argues against seeing the neighborhood strongmen—or dons—as primarily violent, exploitative gangsters.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
-
Lives are literally on the line in Vivian Qu’s genre hybrid Girls on Wire, a surprisingly gritty study of people left behind or living in the margins that fuses gangster realism with social drama and leavens both with a dash of unexpected humor.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Underneath the pirate is a shadowing within the bolt of a floral motif pattern inspired by the tiles at the Columbia Restaurant.—
Eduardo A. Encina,
Orlando Sentinel,
3 Mar. 2025
-
The float that received one of the bigger reactions was a wooden pirate ship built on a RV chassis.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Production is set to begin in coming months on the movie about a horticulturalist who moonlights as an assassin.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Twice in this story, Nadia describes her desire to become an assassin—not a killer for hire but someone who kills bad guys pro bono.—
Willing Davidson,
The New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Unbeknownst to the thieves, some of the containers were equipped with tracking devices.—
Alana Wise,
NPR,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Shortly after the thieves cut the Arizona train's air hose on Jan. 13, a BNSF police officer who was in the area spotted several cases of Nike shoes beside the train and later saw several people loading Nike cases into a U-Haul truck and a Ford Econoline truck nearby.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr.,
USA TODAY,
27 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to ruffian
Cite this Entry
“Ruffian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruffian. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share