Word.ws English Dictionary

kangalang

Syllables: kang·a·lang/ˈkɑːŋɡəlɑːŋ/US/ˈkɑŋɡəlɑŋ/

kangalang noun: a ruffian; also, an unprincipled person.

Noun

kangalang (plural kangalangs)

  1. (Guyana) A ruffian; also, an unprincipled person.
    • The NDP [National Democratic Party] represented the older generation of nationalists who considered the PPPs [People's Progressive Party] a bunch of "kangalangs" (rowdies) who were damaging the respectability they had fought for and built up over many years with the British.1984, Reynold A. Burrowes, The Wild Coast: An Account of Politics in Guyana, Cambridge, Mass.: Schenkman Pub. Co., →ISBN, pages 48–49
    • She is jobless, a burden to her mother, caught up in child-rearing and spends the rest of her time crying over the ‘kangalang’ who abandoned her and her child.1995, Guyana Review, Georgetown, Guyana: Cosmopolitan Communications Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 31

Examples of kangalang in a sentence

  • The editor of the Guiana Times described these women as a ‘Kangalang’ Party – consisting of domestics and market hucksters.1998, Hazel M. Woolford, “Women in Guyanese Politics, 1812–1964”, in Winston F. McGowan, James G. Rose, David A[rthur] Granger, editors...
  • My brothers got away one day and followed the kangalangs (ruffians) to the backdam, but they made the mistake of coming home soaking wet after swimming in the canal.2011 October 27, Helena Martin, “1957–58 Middle Road, La Penitence”, in Walk Wit’ Me ...: All Ova Guyana, Bloomington, Ind.: Balboa Press...
  • The legislative arm of the Government of Guyana has seemingly been taken over by Kangalangs.2017 December 16, Ken Danns, “Kangalangs in Parliament”, in Sunday Chronicle, number 105129, Georgetown, Guyana: Guyana National...
  • Anything that needed investigation was the lies and distortions told by a kangalang like him, who have no regard for the integrity of the vote but wanted a specific outcome, at any cost.2020 October 20, Lincoln Lewis, “Freddie [Kissoon] is obsessed with black men and women [letter]”, in Sharmain Grainger, editor, Kaieteur...

Forms of kangalang

pluralkangalangs

Origin of kangalang

Borrowed from Guyanese Creole English kangalang; further etymology unknown.

Questions about kangalang

What does kangalang mean?
Kangalang means a ruffian; also, an unprincipled person.
How do you use kangalang in a sentence?
The editor of the Guiana Times described these women as a ‘Kangalang’ Party – consisting of domestics and market hucksters.
What part of speech is kangalang?
Kangalang is a noun.
How do you pronounce kangalang?
Kangalang is pronounced /ˈkɑːŋɡəlɑːŋ/ (UK).
What is the plural of kangalang?
The plural of kangalang is kangalangs.

Words near kangalang in the dictionary

  1. Kanga cricket
  2. Kangabam
  3. Kangal
  4. Kangal Shepherd Dog
  5. Kangal Shepherd Dogs
  6. kangalang
  7. kangalangs
  8. Kangaloon
  9. Kangals
  10. kangani
  11. kanganies

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: kangalang (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-kangalang.wav.

Cite this entry: “kangalang.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/kangalang. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.