riffraff

riff·raff

noun \ˈrif-ˌraf\

Definition of RIFFRAFF

1

a : disreputable persons

b : rabble

c : one of the riffraff

2

: refuse, rubbish

— riffraff adjective

Examples of RIFFRAFF

1. Try not to associate with that riffraff.
2. <the sight of piles and piles of riffraff at the town dump was a sobering reminder that we are indeed a society of consumers>

Origin of RIFFRAFF

Middle English ryffe raffe, from rif and raf every single one, from Anglo-French rif e raf altogether

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to RIFFRAFF

Synonyms

chaff, deadwood, debris, dreck (also drek), dross, dust, effluvium (also effluvia), junk, litter, offal, offscouring, raffle, refuse, garbage, rubbish, scrap, spilth, trash, truck, waste

Antonyms

A-list, aristocracy, elite, gentry, quality, society, upper class, upper crust

Related Words

crud, sewage, slop, swill, wash; detritus, remains, rubble, ruins; dump, scrap heap; lumber, odds and ends, trumpery; flotsam, jetsam, wreckage; castoff, cull, discard, hand-me-down, reject, throwaway; nothing, straw, two bits

Near Antonyms

catch, gem, goody (or goodie), jewel, pearl, plum, prize, treasure, treasure trove, trove, valuable; booty, find, salvage

Rhymes with RIFFRAFF

agrafe, bar graph, behalf, carafe, chiffchaff, cowlstaff, digraph, distaff, Falstaff, flagstaff, Flagstaff, giraffe, half-staff, horselaugh, kenaf, line graph, mooncalf, paraph, pikestaff, tipstaff