CROOKS Synonyms: 117 Similar and Opposite Words

crooks 1 of 2

noun

plural of crook

as in criminals

a person who has committed a crime a guy at the bar was raving about how all politicians are basically crooks

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in curves

something that curves or is curved carried the baby in the crook of her arm

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crooks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of crook

as in bends

to cause to turn away from a straight line crooked a finger

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in trends

to turn away from a straight line or course the road suddenly crooked to the left

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

straightens

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 crooks

Noun

But con men and crooks operate in the same world as fixers, and journalists can be easy marks for a story that’s too good to be true. — Austin Elias-De Jesus, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2026 The crooks beat him savagely, at one point slashing him with a machete, while demanding his iPhone password, officials said. — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 22 Sep. 2026 Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a British soldier trying to keep the bomb from going boom, while Theo James and Sam Worthington are part of a gang of crooks with some trust issues. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026 More than most pictures about crooks and the men who chase them, Melville’s movie gets into the heads of its characters and the heart of their wicked deeds with surgical precision. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026 His actions reduced the time the crooks had inside the house. — Jermont Terry, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026 Cox, working like a shoestring Peckinpah, sets up Strindler against the crooks who run the border town — the corrupt mayor and sheriff and a wealthy rancher. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026 Also in his orbit are a consortium of crooks, including his cousin Freddie, a hip junkie, and Pepper, a taciturn hoodlum who was friends with Ray’s dad, Big Mike, a legendary thief. — Niela Orr, Vulture, 20 July 2026 Nonetheless, skeptics seized on the news to warn that airport workers seeking a payoff might collude to cancel a flight, or that crooks could call in fake threats to shut down air travel. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 16 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for crooks

Noun

That same month, criminals nabbed a $4 million diamond necklace from Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK).

— Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
For decades, Hollywood actor Danny Trejo’s bread and butter was playing gangsters, prison inmates and other assorted criminals.

— Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

The prospect of spending the rest of her life with a man who nattered on about yield curves filled her with despair.

— Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
The duo worked with curves, sequins and dotted effects to suggest light on water, and drew on Impressionist color contrasts.

— Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of curves

Verb

Keeping time is a natural theme for the novel, and Li bends it to her will, often flashing forward to reveal events in her characters’ futures.

— Radhika Jones, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Phoebe Bridgers, in her first film role, pulls off an uncanny transformation as a decoy who bends lines of age and gender.

— Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of bends

Verb

Chrysalis hooks its clients up with social services and teaches them how to write a resume, navigate online job listings and handle an interview.

— Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026
Right before guests arrive, attach fishing line to the wire cage and hang the fall flower arrangement using cup hooks indoors or on nearby branches outside.

— Maria Sabella, Architectural Digest, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of hooks

Verb

If neither team sweeps the series, up to three additional games will be played.

— Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Like Dillane’s Willoughby, wily and louche, who quite literally sweeps Marianne off her injured foot and into a giggly, schoolyard kind of chaotic sudden romance.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of sweeps

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crooking

crooks

croon

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“Crooks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crooks. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of crooks

noun

verb

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