So, why doesn't Webster classify "thug" and "criminal" as synonyms?
Originally Posted by Yssup Rider
Dictionaries customarily do not provide as comprehensive a list of synonyms and antonyms as does a Thesaurus, which is why many writers use both.
The point seems to be that in the more comprehensive listing of the Thesaurus it does not provide that a "Black person" or "African-American" is a synonym for "thug" .. and neither does Websters.... since you brought that up as a source.
Here are the online synonyms for "thug" in Websters:
"Related to THUG
Synonyms bully, gangbanger,
gangsta,
gangster, goon, gorilla, hood, hooligan, mobster, mug, plug-ugly, punk, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, hoodlum, tough, toughie (also toughy), yob [British], yobbo [British]
Related Words cutthroat, scoundrel, villain; assassin,
bandit, bravo, brigand,
criminal,
crook, desperado, felon, gunman, highwayman,
lawbreaker, mafioso, malefactor,
offender, outlaw, perp, perpetrator, pirate;
pickpocket, racketeer, robber, swindler, thief, vandal; juvenile delinquent, tearaway [British]
More importantly, it would seem somewhat foolish to expect "criminal" to be a synonym when
the Webster definition of "thug" is "a violent criminal" ... now wouldn't it? But it IS LISTED.
http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/def...larksville.pdf
But why expect someone who can't read maps to be able to read a dictionary?