Maffia

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Maffia - a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian MafiaCosa Nostra, Mafiaomerta - a code of silence practiced by the Mafia; a refusal to give evidence to the police about criminal activitiescrime syndicate, syndicate, mob, family - a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activitiesmafioso - a member of the Mafia crime syndicate in the United States
	2.	Maffia - a secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th centurySicilian Mafia, Mafiaact 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 feargangdom, gangland, organized crime - underworld organizationsmafioso - a member of the Sicilian Mafia
	3.	maffia - any tightly knit group of trusted associatesmafiacolloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speechclique, coterie, ingroup, inner circle, camp, pack - an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose