Mafia
Mafia
Definition
Ma·fia (mä′fē ə)
noun
- in Sicily,
- an attitude of popular hostility to law and government
- a secret society characterized by this attitude
- in the U.S. and elsewhere, a secret society, of Italian origin, engaged in such illegal activities as gambling, prostitution, and illicit trade in narcotics
- any group engaged in such activities the Russian mafia
- any exclusive or dominating group
Etymology: Sicilian
Mafia
Usage Examples
Converse of subject
- run: Beggars in India are professional, often run by mafias.
Converse of object
- have: In fact the tax breaks have been designed to exclude nannies a fact that had the entire nanny mafia up in arms!
- involve: Now, we could possibly have both the Russian mafia and the U.S. mafia involved in our elections.
- join: Bobby, in particular, still has dreams of joining the mafia.
Adjective modifier
- transnational: The most likely culprits, says the General, were transnational mafias and international oligarchs More.. .
- Russian: Robbie Williams spotted in La Grange apparently with the Russian mafia.
- Irish: Maybe O'Leary will prove ABTN wrong but the thought of the Irish mafia negotiating with the original Russian version beggars belief.
- local: Braden's using the doll business to import Junk, for the local mafia.
- Italian: Is this forum inhabited by half the Italian mafia?
Modifies a noun
- boss: They remind me of a big fat mafia boss sitting in his restaurant with all the women around waiting for his orders.
- gang: Cracking the mafia gangs involved in the sale of babies abroad is not easy for the Bulgarian police.
- quot: Someone was selling quot mafia quot taking aim at for her various.
- family: A Chicago mafia family descends on the sophisticated surroundings of a London Italian jazz café , The Gondola!
- member: No other mafia member would have taken the abuse.
- man: Robert De Niro has signed up to play a mafia man in yet another gangster film.
Noun used with modifier
- quot: Someone was selling quot mafia quot taking aim at for her various.
- drug: One guy who was against me was the biggest drug mafia guy in the area.
- house: The legendary Courtyard was electro heaven with the Swedish house mafia in charge.
- timber: The drug, fur and timber mafias are doing a raging business.
