Adjacent Words

goon definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an awkward stupid person [syn: lout, clod, stumblebum, goon, oaf, lubber, lummox, lump, gawk]
2: an aggressive and violent young criminal [syn: hood, hoodlum, goon, punk, thug, tough, toughie, strong-armer]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: probably short for English dialect gooney simpleton Date: 1921 1. a stupid person 2. a. a man hired to terrorize or eliminate opponents b. enforcer 2b

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. sl. 1 a stupid or playful person. 2 esp. US a person hired by racketeers etc. to terrorize political or industrial opponents. Etymology: perh. f. dial. gooney booby: infl. by the subhuman cartoon character 'Alice the Goon'

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(goons) 1. A goon is a person who is paid to hurt or threaten people. (AM INFORMAL) He and the other goon began to beat me up. N-COUNT 2. If you call someone a goon, you think they behave in a silly way. (OLD-FASHIONED) N-COUNT [disapproval]

Moby Thesaurus

Mafioso, Young Turk, adherent, battler, beast, beldam, belligerent, belted knight, berserk, berserker, bickerer, blade, bomber, bravo, brawler, bruiser, brute, bully, bullyboy, combatant, competitor, contender, contestant, creature, demon, devil, disciple, disputant, dragon, duelist, dummy, enforcer, fencer, feuder, fiend, fighter, fighting cock, figurehead, fire-eater, firebrand, flunky, flying squadron, foilsman, follower, fury, gamecock, gillie, gladiator, goon squad, gorilla, gun, gunsel, hanger-on, hardnose, hatchet man, hell-raiser, hellcat, hellhound, hellion, henchman, holy terror, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, hothead, hotspur, incendiary, jackal, jouster, killer, knight, lackey, mad dog, madcap, man, militant, minion, monster, mug, mugger, muscle man, myrmidon, picket, plug-ugly, puppet, quarreler, rapist, revolutionary, rioter, rival, rodman, rough, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, sabreur, satellite, savage, scrapper, scuffler, she-wolf, spitfire, squabbler, stooge, strong arm, strong-arm man, strong-armer, struggler, swashbuckler, sword, swordplayer, swordsman, sycophant, termagant, terror, terrorist, thug, tiger, tigress, tilter, torpedo, tough, tough guy, trigger man, tussler, ugly customer, violent, virago, vixen, votary, wild beast, witch, wolf, wrangler