as in gangster
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 thug
There’s no dearth of evil Imperial thugs in Andor — however, one character who seems to exist in a complicated moral gray is Lonni Jung (Robert Emms), a fellow ISB officer who attends Partagaz’s closed-door briefings alongside Dedra but relays the Empire’s plans to Luthen in secret.
—
Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025
Speaking of the stand: The prosecution’s main witness changes her damning testimony against Gomez when one of his thugs — the same guy that was trying to get Noah to get in his car — arrives in court and glares menacingly from the back row.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 17 Apr. 2025
The story focuses on two figures, a school principal and a thug.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Resist this madness before the unhinged, heartless bully and his spellbound thugs shred our Constitution and our future.
—Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025
Speaking of the stand: The prosecution’s main witness changes her damning testimony against Gomez when one of his thugs — the same guy that was trying to get Noah to get in his car — arrives in court and glares menacingly from the back row.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 17 Apr. 2025
The story focuses on two figures, a school principal and a thug.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Resist this madness before the unhinged, heartless bully and his spellbound thugs shred our Constitution and our future.
—Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thug
Noun
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Locomotive, which is currently in Cannes with pics such as gangster comedy Café 404 and Richard Strauss’ Deadline, has also secured deals for In the Fire of War with unnamed buyers in the likes of Poland and Germany.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
14 May 2025
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Colby is a gangster wannabe, and Niro has become a lawman, leaving the 'street rat' life behind.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
12 May 2025
Noun
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Or even those Californians, such as many in San Francisco and Los Angeles, who are just fed up with the perception that California is soft on criminals.—
Anita Chabria,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2025
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The Forgotten Gender Nonconformists of the Old West Livia Gershon April 27, 2018 In the Old West, cross-dressing was sometimes a disguise for criminals on the lam.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
30 May 2025
Noun
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But the new villain is smarter than the IMF assumed, and the mission has disastrous results.—
Keith Langston,
People.com,
24 May 2025
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Of course, everyone has their own favorite Bond villain.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
24 May 2025
Noun
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King Shrewd secretly trains young Fitz as an assassin, harnessing his ancestral magic.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
25 May 2025
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Those were the final words uttered by Emperor Uriel Septum—played by none other than Star Trek's Patrick Stewart—before an assassin leaped out of the shadows to cut him down.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
22 May 2025
Noun
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But after a bandit attack leaves the children orphaned, the son dies.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
25 May 2025
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To make matters worse, it is hosted by former Family Feud kissing bandit Richard Dawson (who, let the record show, is a fantastic movie villain).—
EW.com,
EW.com,
23 May 2025
Noun
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In Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning (2023), Atwell made her debut as Grace, a thief with questionable loyalties who becomes Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) new ally.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
23 May 2025
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The film features our beloved returning team members (Luther, Benji, and Ilsa) as well as new faces like the enigmatic thief Grace (Hayley Atwell); Gabriel (Esai Morales), an assassin who knew Ethan in his pre-IMF life; and Denlinger (Cary Elwes), the Director of National Intelligence.—
Will Harris,
EW.com,
23 May 2025
Noun
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His hoodlum phase in New York was re-created at the Lenox Lounge in Harlem.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
2 May 2025
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The gang specialized in hijacking cars and guarding bootleg liquor shipments for other hoodlums during the Prohibition era.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The Sea Witch By Eva Leigh Canary Street Press: 448 pages, $19 (Aug. 26) Leigh has penned a pirate romantasy with an ultra-hot relationship at its center.—
Lorraine Berry,
Los Angeles Times,
27 May 2025
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However, the sugars in a molasses spray caused an increase of beneficial insects such as adult lacewings, lady beetles, weevil parasitoids, big-eyed bugs, minute pirate bugs, and adult hover flies.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
24 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thug. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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