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 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 The world of gangsters and rappers loomed large over the trial. — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026 Some gangsters still wear elaborate designs all over their bodies, and the association with the yakuza remains strong enough that most public baths, swimming pools, and saunas in Japan shun tattooed customers. — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026 But when a patient recognizes him from his dangerous past, Brown has eight hours to elude the government, mob hitmen, quack surgeons, and a trail of dead gangsters to somehow beat the reaper. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026 Somebody like Gilroy or Jeff Kober and Barry Corbin (popping up occasionally as a pair of geriatric gangsters) will come and go in situations knowingly designed to feel contrived. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026 And the next thing, a knock come at the door and these gangsters come in with guns. — Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026 British gangsters colliding with the Italian Mafia just feels so right for our world. — Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Sep. 2026 Live actors would appear throughout, sometimes as gangsters in a noir crime movie, and sometimes as Wild West cowboys. — Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 3 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gangsters

Noun

These low-level thugs typically are not believed to be formally aligned with Iran.

— Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026
Saint played Edie Doyle, whose brother was murdered by thugs working for a mob boss running a longshoremen's union; her character becomes involved with Brando's pugilistic dockworker Terry Malloy.

— David Morgan, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of thugs

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

Rival fans were quick to jump all over this fact, given that both the Panthers and the Tkachuk brothers were seen as polarizing villains throughout the NHL.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
There are no villains or scary scenes in this gentle story about a young witch finding her way in the world.

— Anna Earl, Parents, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of villains

Noun

The father pulls over, and the car is immediately swarmed over by bandits, who brutally kill him — plus his wife and two kids — with no mercy.

— Damon Wise, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026
In the decade of violent conflicts that followed, attacks on border towns and seizures of American property by revolutionaries and bandits prompted the United States to send two military expeditions into Mexico.

— Robert B. Zoellick, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of bandits

Noun

The alleged plot targeting Pannun unfolded at the same time that Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another prominent Sikh separatist and friend of Pannun, was gunned down and killed in June 2023 by assassins outside his gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.

— Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
As with the previous hour, which opened with the Russian assassins stalking River and Sid at the bowling alley, this episode picks up at the suspense cliffhanger of these same assassins peeling off with an abducted Sid in their car.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of assassins

Noun

Wild to me though that something that expensive would just be dropped off with porch pirates out there.

— Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Jamal convened a press conference proclaiming to be able to communicate by phone with Somali pirates who were holding a Nigerian ship hostage.

— Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of pirates

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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 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of gangsters

noun

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