thug

Meaning

Noun

1. A person who is a member of a gang or criminal organization.
2. A violent, aggressive, or truculent person.
3. A criminal that extorts people.
4. A person who use intimidation to coerce others.
5. (historical) One of a band of assassins formerly active in northern India who worshipped Kali and sacrificed their victims to her.
6. One who, usually as a result of social disadvantage, has turned to committing crimes (e.g. selling drugs, robbery, assault, etc.) to make a living; a gangsta.
7. An overvigorous plant that spreads and dominates the flowerbed.
8. A wooden bat used in the game of miniten, fitting around the player's hand.

Verb

1. (informal, transitive) To commit acts of thuggery, to live the life of a thug, to menace, to commit crime.
2. (informal, transitive) (often with out) To appear as a thug; to dress and act in a manner reminiscent of a thug.

Synonyms

hooligan

hoodlum

ruffian

mobster

criminal

bandit

goon

tough

cutthroat

thief

brute

felon

toughie

terror

hood

professional criminal

killer

strong-armer

scumbag

wild man

savage

renegade

punk

career criminal

gorilla

🦍

bully

drip

buffoon

felonious

freebooter

bastard

desperado

delinquent

low life

culprit

buccaneer

assassin

culpable

crump

brock

crum

heck

jerk

crud

lout

lowlife

brawler

marauder

bagman

grifter

Translations

gamberro

Rowdy

matón

eşkıya

facinoroso

bandit

voyou

bandido

sicario

accoltellatore

teppista

bandito

Verbrecher

Grobian

Pronounced as (IPA)

/θʌɡ/

Etymology

Cognate with English: thatch

In summary

From Hindi ठग (ṭhag, “swindler, fraud, cheat”).
Thuggee was a network of gangs in India from the 17th century to the 19th century who robbed and murdered travellers, often by strangling and beating their victims to death. During British Imperial rule of India, many Indian words passed into common English, and by 1810 thug referred to a member of these Indian gangs. The sense was adopted more generally as "ruffian, cutthroat, and cruel robber" by 1839. Related to English thatch, deck.