Definition

1. Noun:
   • An aggressive and violent young criminal: A person, typically a young man, who uses violence and intimidation, often as part of a gang or group.

Usage

• The word "thug" describes a person whose primary behavior involves physical aggression, brutality, or criminal intimidation. It often carries a connotation of being part of a group engaged in such activities. While historically specific, its modern usage is broader.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The thug threatened the shopkeeper for protection money.
  • Police arrested several thugs involved in the street fight.
  • He was attacked by a gang of thugs on his way home.

Advanced Usage

• "Thug life": A term originating in hip-hop culture that glamorizes or acknowledges a lifestyle involving street violence, crime, and survival in impoverished urban environments.
  • The rapper's lyrics often reflect themes of thug life.

Variants and Related Words

• Thuggery (n): Violent behavior or actions characteristic of a thug.
  • The neighborhood was tired of the constant thuggery.
• Thuggish (adj): Behaving like or characteristic of a thug.
  • He was fired for his thuggish behavior towards coworkers.

Synonyms

• Hoodlum: A violent criminal, especially one belonging to a gang.
• Ruffian: A violent person, especially one involved in crime.
• Gangster: A member of an organized gang of violent criminals.

Related Idioms

• While not a phrasal verb, the term is central to the idiom "thug life" as described above.

Noun

1. an aggressive and violent young criminal