MAFFIA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Maffia mean? 

• MAFFIA (noun)
  The noun MAFFIA has 3 senses:

1. a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia

2. a secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century

3. any tightly knit group of trusted associates

  Familiarity information: MAFFIA used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MAFFIA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

Cosa Nostra; Maffia; Mafia

Hypernyms ("Maffia" is a kind of...):

crime syndicate; family; mob; syndicate (a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities)

Meronyms (members of "Maffia"):

mafioso (a member of the Mafia crime syndicate in the United States)

Domain member category:

omerta (a code of silence practiced by the Mafia; a refusal to give evidence to the police about criminal activities)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

Maffia; Mafia; Sicilian Mafia

Hypernyms ("Maffia" is a kind of...):

gangdom; gangland; organized crime (underworld organizations)

Meronyms (members of "Maffia"):

mafioso (a member of the Sicilian Mafia)

Domain category:

act of terrorism; terrorism; terrorist act (the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Any tightly knit group of trusted associates

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

maffia; mafia

Hypernyms ("maffia" is a kind of...):

camp; clique; coterie; ingroup; inner circle; pack (an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)