Thesaurus results for GANGSTERS

gangsters

noun

plural of gangster

as in thugs

a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang Al Capone remains one of the most notorious gangsters in American history

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 gangsters The bodies start piling up – and business booms – but the growing enterprise puts the trio in the crosshairs of the powerful gangsters and underworld figures in the lawless border town of Saribgunj. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026 Duane Keith Davis is accused of orchestrating Shakur’s killing in September 1996, and the lore of other rappers and gangsters looms large over his trial. — Aditi Sangal, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026 Especially when the protagonists are fighting gangsters, offensive editors, twitchy Vatican librarians, and an oversized Jason Momoa, to claim the hand of Gal Gadot’s two characters, one in the present, one in the past. — A.d. Amorosi, SPIN, 6 Aug. 2026 Badly in Love manages to break through because the cast of men and women looking for true love are from the Japanese yankii subculture—juvenile delinquents, motorcycle gangsters, troubled women, and more. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 31 July 2026 Remember all those fake memoirs from the early 2000s, by all those writers pretending to be addicts and gangsters and Holocaust survivors? — James Parker, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026 In each, the protagonist(s) will be sought by both police and gangsters yet will lose their own money and have to get along without any while on the run. — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026 In Gosha’s case, that involves getting mixed up with gangsters at a seedy nightclub, a sequence that quickly deteriorates from being mildly comical to sinister to outright terrifying by even degrees. — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2026 It a strange, mystical Bond movie, that’s part an attempt at Blacksploitation and part about Harlem gangsters, Caribbean drug farming, and voodoo-practicing witch doctors. — Literary Hub, 13 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gangsters

Noun

The eponymous former assassin is drawn back into the game after some thugs (led by Alfie Allen) kill his dog and royally piss him off.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026
Shortly after his big win, he’s attacked by two thugs in a parking garage.

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 30 July 2026

Definition of thugs

Noun

At the time of the arrest, many royal observers speculated about Harry and Meghan’s reaction, especially since they had often been portrayed as the family villains.

— Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 25 Aug. 2026
As baseball's new villains, the Dodgers' fate in October will be the most talked about storyline.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of villains

Noun

Analysts warn each ransom payment fuels more crime as armed groups, from rural bandits to Islamist militants, raid schools, mosques and villages, with an average of 21 kidnappings reported daily.

— Dyepkazah Shibayan, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
The Brigands of Rattlecreek follows a sheriff and a doctor who seek revenge against a group of bandits who use the cover of a torrential thunderstorm to rob and terrorize the occupants of a small town.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of bandits

Noun

Bannerman centers on the eponymous Paul Bannerman, a lethal covert operative who convinces a group of the world’s most deadly assassins to quit the spy game for a chance to lead normal lives in the suburbs of Connecticut.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2026
Meanwhile, Clive Owen and other assassins pursue them through the streets of Europe.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of assassins

Noun

Speaking of singing pirates, Curry clearly fancied these kinds of roles, signing on to play the villainous Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island (1996), Brian Henson’s musical adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 26 Aug. 2026
That is up from Politico’s report that Somali pirates had seized at least three tankers carrying oil and fertilizer since April, while a chemical-carrying ship was hijacked off Yemen in July.

— Joshua Hong, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of pirates

Noun

The plot against Zeraati is part of a widening campaign by the Iranian government which involves hiring criminals—Russian mobsters, Hells Angels bikers, and even Swedish teen-agers—to attack its detractors and sow fear among Iranians in exile.

— Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026
The new manager solved the Bang Records problem by walking into a Ninth Avenue warehouse and handing over $20,000 in cash to two mobsters dressed to the nines.

— Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Definition of mobsters

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gangsterism

gangsters

gangs up

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“Gangsters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gangsters. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of gangsters

noun

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