brigand

noun

Definition of brigandnext
as in bandit
formal + old-fashioned a person who commits robbery usually as part of a group

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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 brigand Their captors beset by these foreign brigands, Larys and Aegon manage to escape. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 That’s the state Supergirl is in when she is dragged into a local dispute on some far-off planet, defending the honor of an orphaned teenage girl, Ruthye (Eve Ridley); her parents were murdered by a brigand named Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts). — David Sims, The Atlantic, 26 June 2026 The French-language film begins in Spain circa 1845, when Antonio, the blind knife-sharpener, returns to Seville to the great delight of local brigands and soldiers, whose blades have grown dull in his absence. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 21 May 2026 Their stories live on in Sardinian lore with an almost mythical quality, the brigands admired for their intractability. — IEEE Spectrum, 7 May 2026 Then rumors started spreading about armed brigands that would come to town to steal what little harvest folks had left, so towns raised militias to fight back. — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 24 Sep. 2025 Captured by brigands, the immigrants are herded into a remote Libyan prison camp where they are tormented and tortured. — Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb. 2024 Saúl is a brigand while Isabella is a noblewoman, and the tale tells of the couple’s struggle as their families oppose their union. — Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 Looking eastward, the notion that Iran, which took hundreds of thousands of casualties in repelling an Iraqi juggernaut in the 1980s, is going to melt in terror in the face of several thousand ISIS brigands is absurd. — Steven Simon, Foreign Affairs, 26 Aug. 2014
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brigand
  1. bandit
  2. highwayman
  3. pirate
  4. criminal
  5. assassin
  6. outlaw
  7. offender
  8. felon
Noun
  • Between Two Fires is a zippy historical monster story, where a bandit ex-knight and a young girl beset by visions have to contend with plague and inhuman monsters.
    — James Folta, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Snoopy and Woodstock line the outside of the bowl in costumes like cowboys, mummies, bandits, and witches.
    — Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of bandit
Noun
  • Shortly before midnight on May 23, 1798, highwaymen just north of Dublin intercepted and set on fire a mail coach headed to Belfast.
    — Joseph Patrick Kelly, The Conversation, 20 May 2025
  • Dee is in his Springheel Jack costume, since London bobbies of that era would rather work with a mythical highwayman than a real Chinese man.
    — Yvonne Zipp, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Apr. 2025
Definition of highwayman
Noun
  • 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
  • Get it at 50 percent off and complete the set with matching bowls featuring the whole Peanuts gang in designs with bats and pumpkins, Snoopy’s doghouse, pirates, Schroeder’s piano, pumpkin patches, cute costumes, and more.
    — Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of pirate
Noun
  • The Financial Action Task Force, the global money-laundering watchdog, has warned that criminals exploit citizenship and residency programs to conceal their identities, launder illicit wealth and evade justice.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The real risk is that a criminal could forge your signature on a deed or trick you into signing paperwork that transfers ownership, then file that document with the local office that maintains property records.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of criminal
Noun
  • But instead the sisters wind up confronting assassins, demons with human familiars, and revelations about their late mother’s place within Le Clan des Sorcières.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Separately in the episode, River (Jack Lowden) and Sid (Olivia Cooke) are on the run from a pair of assassins, while the rest of the team circles the wagons en route to a safe house.
    — Lisa de los Reyes, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of assassin
Noun
  • Taking inspiration from their cousins—who had been members of the more famous Jesse and Frank James outlaw gang—the Dalton gang decided to rob two banks at once.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Simpson has carved out an incredibly loyal following in the country music industry by singing largely outlaw country tunes.
    — David Hookstead OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of outlaw
Noun
  • Those illicit techniques include attaching a GPS tracker to a car or using cell-tower data to track a potential offender.
    — Rafael A. Mangual, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The repeat violent offender that attacked multiple women in Dilworth should have never been on the streets.
    — Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of offender
Noun
  • Crawford is charged with first degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, police say.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Huston was arrested the following day on allegations related to being a felon in possession of a firearm and brandishing a firearm during the incident, police said.
    — Daniel Hunt, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of felon

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Brigand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brigand. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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