brigand

noun

Definition of brigandnext
as in bandit
formal + old-fashioned a person who commits robbery usually as part of a group

Related 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 brigand Their captors beset by these foreign brigands, Larys and Aegon manage to escape. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 That’s the state Supergirl is in when she is dragged into a local dispute on some far-off planet, defending the honor of an orphaned teenage girl, Ruthye (Eve Ridley); her parents were murdered by a brigand named Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts). — David Sims, The Atlantic, 26 June 2026 The French-language film begins in Spain circa 1845, when Antonio, the blind knife-sharpener, returns to Seville to the great delight of local brigands and soldiers, whose blades have grown dull in his absence. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 21 May 2026 Their stories live on in Sardinian lore with an almost mythical quality, the brigands admired for their intractability. — IEEE Spectrum, 7 May 2026 Then rumors started spreading about armed brigands that would come to town to steal what little harvest folks had left, so towns raised militias to fight back. — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 24 Sep. 2025 Captured by brigands, the immigrants are herded into a remote Libyan prison camp where they are tormented and tortured. — Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb. 2024 Saúl is a brigand while Isabella is a noblewoman, and the tale tells of the couple’s struggle as their families oppose their union. — Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 Looking eastward, the notion that Iran, which took hundreds of thousands of casualties in repelling an Iraqi juggernaut in the 1980s, is going to melt in terror in the face of several thousand ISIS brigands is absurd. — Steven Simon, Foreign Affairs, 26 Aug. 2014
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brigand
  1. bandit
  2. highwayman
  3. pirate
  4. criminal
  5. assassin
  6. outlaw
  7. offender
  8. felon
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 bandit
Noun
  • Shortly before midnight on May 23, 1798, highwaymen just north of Dublin intercepted and set on fire a mail coach headed to Belfast.
    — Joseph Patrick Kelly, The Conversation, 20 May 2025
  • Dee is in his Springheel Jack costume, since London bobbies of that era would rather work with a mythical highwayman than a real Chinese man.
    — Yvonne Zipp, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Apr. 2025
Definition of highwayman
Noun
  • This month, 190-piece Hershey Halloween candy bags, including pirate and witch varietals, are $5 off.
    — Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Bates first set up a pirate radio station at Knock John, another sea fort.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of pirate
Noun
  • Throughout the bar are blurbs of information on cases and criminals, researched by Rose and the team.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026
  • When criminals are behind bars, their victims should finally be safe from them.
    — Caden Perry, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of criminal
Noun
  • Making everyone a potential spy or assassin was only an expedient way to destroy institutions internally and externally through financial incentives.
    — Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Skirting bravely around the edges of space to seek solace, they’re hunted by the Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a deadly Alliance assassin on a mission who seeks to recapture her.
    — Grace Dean, Space.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of assassin
Noun
  • The film will likely depict the Ploughman’s rise from obscurity to notorious outlaw, though most retellings of his story have been set centuries before the Peasants’ Revolt.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Modern country is represented too, with rising outlaw country artist Margo Price on backing vocals across the album.
    — Brendan Hay, SPIN, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of outlaw
Noun
  • At the same hearing, a fifth defendant, Subhan Ahmed, 18, pleaded not guilty to a charge of assisting an offender.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Hisbah members also face widespread allegations of rights abuses in their enforcement operations, including subjecting offenders to dehumanizing punishments such as public beatings or shaming.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of offender
Noun
  • Authorities learned Kreuzer had previously been arrested on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm, domestic violence and leading law enforcement officers on a vehicle pursuit.
    — Daniel Hunt August 29, Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Lonnie Bierbrodt, a trucker and a felon on parole, was questioned early in 1993 and had blood and hair samples taken.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of felon

Browse Nearby Words

brigading
brigand
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Cite this Entry

“Brigand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brigand. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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