GUNSEL Synonyms: 43 Similar and Opposite Words

gunsel

noun

Definition of gunsel

slang

as in racketeer

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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 gunsel Generally, Complaining About The Cost is the first page of the playbook for politicians under investigation by special counsels, and for their gunsels and mouthpieces as well. — Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 5 Dec. 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gunsel

Noun

Of course, entrusting waste management to gangsters and racketeers has repercussions.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 July 2026
Ferro pleaded guilty in October 2025 to conspiracy to participate in a racketeer influenced and corrupt organization.

— Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 8 May 2026

Definition of racketeer

Noun

But when a patient recognizes him from his dangerous past, Brown has eight hours to elude the government, mob hitmen, quack surgeons, and a trail of dead gangsters to somehow beat the reaper.

— Denise Petski, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026
Somebody like Gilroy or Jeff Kober and Barry Corbin (popping up occasionally as a pair of geriatric gangsters) will come and go in situations knowingly designed to feel contrived.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of gangster

Noun

Jay cites the scene in which Tommy DeVito (played by Joe Pesci) threatens Billy Batts (Frank Vincent) with increasingly outrageous acts of violence, turning the mobster’s menace into dark comedy.

— John Kennedy, VIBE.com, 30 Sep. 2026
He gets involved with mobsters in a shady loan scheme that lands him in prison.

— Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of mobster

Noun

His warning was meant for American eyes and ears at least as much — if not more so — than for the government in Jerusalem that until now has encouraged the hoodlums by tolerating their violence.

— Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026
Also in his orbit are a consortium of crooks, including his cousin Freddie, a hip junkie, and Pepper, a taciturn hoodlum who was friends with Ray’s dad, Big Mike, a legendary thief.

— Niela Orr, Vulture, 20 July 2026

Definition of hoodlum

Noun

The residents occasionally gather in a disused rec center but the meetings devolve into rants about immigrants, junkies, thugs and vigilantism.

— Jessica Kiang, Variety, 26 Sep. 2026
That a Christian man was responsible for the devastation in Oklahoma City certainly didn’t matter to the thugs who terrorized a Muslim woman there, nearly seven months pregnant, by attacking her home, breaking her windows, screaming religious slurs.

— Reshma Memon Yaqub, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of thug

Noun

About the shot in the trailer where Garfield’s Altman goes into a bunker with a bunch of guns?

— Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Sacramento County sheriff’s officials recovered the weapon used by the 34-year-old man fatally shot by deputies Sunday near Marconi and Eastern avenues and said he had been arrested on gun charges at the same intersection in June.

— Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of gun

Noun

The alleged triggerman was not — John Gurino was gunned down in a 2003 dispute with a Boca Raton deli owner.

— Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 5 July 2026
Broadnax, who was tried as the triggerman, was sentenced to death, while Cummings, who was tried as his accomplice, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

— Jamie Landers, Dallas Morning News, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of triggerman

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

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Synonyms of gunsel

noun

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