English Meaning & Definitions
A violent young troublemaker, typically one who is part of a gang or involved in disorderly conduct, especially at sporting events.
- “The stadium was cordoned off by police to prevent hooligans from clashing after the football match.”
- “Local businesses are tired of hooligans spray-painting graffiti on their storefronts every weekend.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
English Antonyms & Opposites
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “hooligan”.
The origin is uncertain, but it likely stems from the name 'Hoolihan,' a rowdy Irish family appearing in a London music hall song in the 1890s. It gained widespread popularity in the British press in 1898 to describe gangs of youths in South London, eventually becoming a generic term for a violent troublemaker.
Think of a 'hooligan' as someone who is 'who-lying' and causing trouble in the streets.
Frequently Asked Questions About “hooligan”
1. What is the meaning of “hooligan” in English?
In English, hooligan (noun) is defined as: “A violent young troublemaker, typically one who is part of a gang or involved in disorderly conduct, especially at sporting events.”.
2. How do you use “hooligan” in a sentence?
“The stadium was cordoned off by police to prevent hooligans from clashing after the football match.”
3. What are English synonyms of “hooligan”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “hooligan”?
The origin is uncertain, but it likely stems from the name 'Hoolihan,' a rowdy Irish family appearing in a London music hall song in the 1890s. It gained widespread popularity in the British press in 1898 to describe gangs of youths in South London, eventually becoming a generic term for a violent troublemaker.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →A measurement of time indicating an instantaneous occurrence or a state where no time has elapsed.
The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.