English

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Etymology

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gangster +‎ -ize

Verb

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gangsterize (third-person singular simple present gangsterizes, present participle gangsterizing, simple past and past participle gangsterized)

  1. (transitive) To adapt to the norms of gangsters, or violent organized crime.
  2. (transitive) To subject to the abuses of gangsterism.
    Hyponym: terrorize
    • 1970s, Francis E. Dec, Worldwide Open Secret, tract
      [] such banks as Island Federal Bank of Hempstead gangsterized me and swindled me []