Thesaurus results for RUFFIANS

ruffians

noun

plural of ruffian

as in thugs

a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang a gang of ruffians preying upon people who ventured into that section of town

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 ruffians The series has lent a cinematic gangster attraction to the Peaky Blinders, yet the term itself was not one gang — as depicted in the show — but a generic expression from the late 19th century for the ‘street ruffians’ of Birmingham, born out of the city’s ring of poverty. — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2026 In fact, the GTW ruffians have to give the Big Honey some props for his relative restraint in the heat of the moment. — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 28 Feb. 2026 Ciri, unbeknowest to her surrogate ma and pa, is free of her Nilfgaardian captors and on the run with a band of adolescent ruffians, and perhaps figuring out how to take care of herself. — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025 When both young people meet their end the Baron saves Christina by putting Hans’ brain in Christina’s body, uniting their blurred identities in a joint thirst for revenge, creating a Gothic avenger who hunts down the aristocratic ruffians who ruined their happiness. — Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruffians

Noun

Shortly after his big win, he’s attacked by two thugs in a parking garage.

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 30 July 2026
The night of the title fight, Duke is attacked by two thugs who smash his hand with a hammer and, in the ensuing chaos, kill somebody close to him.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2026

Definition of thugs

Noun

Spencer says filmmaker Douglas wanted to very much focus mostly on the women rather than talking about the criminals.

— Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 16 Aug. 2026
Depending on the plan, monitoring may cover credit activity, financial accounts, investment and retirement accounts, phone takeovers, SIM swaps, utility accounts and other areas where criminals may try to use your identity.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

Armed groups, known as bandits in Nigeria, regularly carry out raids and kidnappings for ransom in the northwest and north-central parts of the country.

— ABC News, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
The area was wild and uninhabited, but the bandits moved through it with practiced ease.

— Alexis Okeowo, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of bandits

Noun

This high-security prison is a sprawling complex that houses thousands of detainees, including notorious gangsters, terrorists and prominent white-collar offenders.

— Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 9 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

Definition of gangsters

Noun

People who once dined together, smiled together, campaigned together and worked together to strengthen our communities are suddenly being portrayed as villains.

— Beau Simon, Sun Sentinel, 16 Aug. 2026
Patrick and Hugo McPherson play the Stabbington brothers, two twin villains.

— Tanya Fedak, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of villains

Noun

White was briefly granted an exception, but pirates attacked that attempt, stealing his supplies and forcing him back to England.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
In the national consciousness, Blackpool has become a morbid caricature of working-class Britain—a place where binge drinking, violence, and vomit are in view of teacup rides, kids on the beach, and plastic pirates.

— George Francis Lee, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of pirates

Noun

Many of Ellis’s most awful characters are the most conventionally attractive, their looks serving as a shield against their various crimes; Murphy co-created The Beauty, in which tech moguls and assassins kill to be beautiful.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2026
Authorities were seeking both the assassins and masterminds of the crime, according to the president.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of assassins

Noun

The thieves bypassed alarm and security systems at the MuMe museum.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
The thieves also purloined a small double-sided painting, with the Virgin and Child on one side and Christ on the other, that the Sicilian regional government had bought from the auction house Christie's back in 2003.

— Willem Marx, NPR, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of thieves

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ruffianly

ruffians

ruffle

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“Ruffians.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruffians. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of ruffians

noun

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