as in criminals
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 thugs
Their neighbor, an older Jewish woman, gets arrested and Nazi thugs brazenly loot her apartment.
—
Rabih Alameddine
september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
As night falls, armed thugs roam the streets and families pick up guns to protect themselves.
—Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
Digging and cutting back garden thugs is often necessary to preserve what grows on your side of the fence.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2025
Peace isn’t easy to come by, though the motorcycle thugs who swing by to bully the locals and squeeze money out of the businesses don’t offer much resistance.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Some people are thugs for life.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Hutch screams at thugs during a four-on-one melee, and the irony is only flesh-wound deep.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2025
Lendina’s thugs try to force Hutch out of town, attacking him on a duck boat.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 13 Aug. 2025
However, hoodlums and thugs who throw objects at the players give up their rights and should be removed, charged, and possibly jailed.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Aug. 2025
Rabih Alameddine
september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
As night falls, armed thugs roam the streets and families pick up guns to protect themselves.
—Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
Digging and cutting back garden thugs is often necessary to preserve what grows on your side of the fence.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2025
Peace isn’t easy to come by, though the motorcycle thugs who swing by to bully the locals and squeeze money out of the businesses don’t offer much resistance.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Some people are thugs for life.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Hutch screams at thugs during a four-on-one melee, and the irony is only flesh-wound deep.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2025
Lendina’s thugs try to force Hutch out of town, attacking him on a duck boat.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 13 Aug. 2025
However, hoodlums and thugs who throw objects at the players give up their rights and should be removed, charged, and possibly jailed.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thugs
Noun
-
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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The majority of people in this field did not set out to be criminals.—
Chris Wysopal,
Forbes.com,
19 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
-
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
-
But there’s something genuinely unsettling about watching Katherine get stalked by the bubbles from her bath or the room itself somehow teleport around the hotel; if nothing else, the suite is certainly one of the season’s more unusual villains.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Marie, Andre, Jordan, and Emma put down the supe uprising, but then psychotic fascist Homelander showed up to condemn them as villains and herald the murderous Cate and Sam as top students and potential recruits for the thoroughly corrupt Seven.—
EW Staff,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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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
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Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern were cast as the bumbling but dogged bandits, Harry and Marv, and Catherine O’Hara brought humor and compassion to the part of Kevin’s mother.—
Tim Greiving,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Also on Monday, Whoopi Goldberg gave a powerful bit of advice to would-be assassins from her post on the talk show.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Sep. 2025
-
These are the kinds of terrible questions assassins always raise.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
However, hoodlums and thugs who throw objects at the players give up their rights and should be removed, charged, and possibly jailed.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Home invasions, vicious biker gangs and a rag-tag task force looking for a group of thieves after a young child goes missing.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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Unlike Mare, whose community was cloistered and intimate, Task builds a wider world of dealers, gangsters, and thieves, not always to its benefit.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The structure is similar to how pirates and privateers once attacked foreign enemies at sea on behalf of their government.—
Rick Bennett,
Time,
17 Sep. 2025
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Stevenson’s pirates are a frighteningly murderous and totally untrustworthy bunch, thriving on threats and duplicity.—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thugs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thugs. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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