gangster
/ˈɡaŋstə
/noun
A member of a gang of violent criminals: gangsters threatened to kill him if he did not cooperate in the theft [as modifier]: gangster movies...
- The McLean gang member said the gangster had used Customs to clear the way for his own criminal activities.
- In fact, many people believe gangsters and hoodlums are vicious and violent by nature.
- Great crimes can also be committed by gangsters and petty criminals - if they have the necessary power.
Synonyms
hoodlum, racketeer, bandit, robber, ruffian, thug, tough, desperado, outlaw, villain, lawbreaker, criminal;
gunman, murderer, assassin, terrorist;
gang member, member of a criminal gang, member of the Mafia, Mafioso;
in Japan yakuza
informal mobster, crook, hitman, hatchet man, heavy
North American informal hood
literary brigand
Derivatives
gangsterism
/ noun ...- This is a counterrevolutionary organization, with a long history of gangsterism and thuggery against any and all left-wing political opponents.
- The paramilitary organisations on both sides have long since been political fronts for gangsterism and racketeering.
- A teeming mass of activity, Hillbrow is seen by many as a place where the entirety of South Africa's evils can be found, an epitome of drug dealings, prostitution, gangsterism, illegal immigrants, squalor and crime.