boisterous

adjective

bois·​ter·​ous ˈbȯi-st(ə-)rəs 

1

a

: noisily turbulent : rowdy

b

: marked by or expressive of exuberance and high spirits

2

: stormy, tumultuous

3

obsolete

a

: coarse

b

: durable, strong

c

: massive

boisterously adverb

boisterousness noun

Synonyms

• hell-raising
• knockabout
• rambunctious
• raucous
• robustious
• roisterous
• rollicking
• rowdy
• rumbustious [chiefly British]

Choose the Right Synonym for boisterous

vociferous, clamorous, blatant, strident, boisterous, obstreperous mean so loud or insistent as to compel attention.

vociferous implies a vehement shouting or calling out.

vociferous cries of protest and outrage

clamorous may imply insistency as well as vociferousness in demanding or protesting.

clamorous demands for prison reforms

blatant implies an offensive bellowing or insensitive loudness.

blatant rock music

a blatant clamor for impeachment

strident suggests harsh and discordant noise.

heard the strident cry of the crow

boisterous suggests a noisiness and turbulence due to high spirits.

a boisterous crowd of party goers

obstreperous suggests unruly and aggressive noisiness and resistance to restraint.

the obstreperous demonstrators were arrested

Examples of boisterous in a Sentence

The crowd was young and boisterous, the cheeseburgers were juicy and perfectly charred, and the place was always packed. —Jonathan Black, Saveur, October 2007

Things had apparently gotten a little too boisterous during the Northern Ohio Girls Soccer League games. And it wasn't the kids. Fed up with noisy, know-it-all parents, the league banned cheering and jeering from the sidelines for one game, which they dubbed Silent Sunday. —Kate Rounds, Ms., December 1999/January 2000

Suzanne Massie, boisterous and voluble as we drove through her adopted neighborhood in St. Petersburg, hurtled to a sudden stop. She was laughing uproariously to see the spot, where five years earlier, her rented car had fallen apart … —Christopher Lydon, Atlantic, February 1993

A large and boisterous crowd attended the concert.

the fans at the baseball game became particularly boisterous after the home run

Recent Examples on the Web

The ‘Turkey Brothers’ steal the encore with a boisterous jam As fans begged for an encore to an empty stage, an unlikely guest took center stage. —Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 17 May 2025

Visitors any other day of the week will be surprised to learn that come Friday, The Blue Coconut transforms into one of the weekly Filthy Friday bar crawl stops, a wild island-hopping party that draws backpackers to some of the islands' most boisterous bars and clubs. —Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 11 May 2025

Robb Report was on hand for the boisterous event, which brought in over $12.6 million, despite no one taking home the headline lot. —Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 5 May 2025

Tottenham, with its array of superstar talent, was simply too strong and, buoyed on by boisterous home support, won the first leg comfortably 3-1. —Ben Church, CNN Money, 2 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English boistous crude, clumsy, from Anglo-French

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Kids Definition

boisterous

adjective

bois·​ter·​ous ˈbȯi-st(ə-)rəs 

1

a

: noisily rough : rowdy

a boisterous crowd

b

: marked by high spirits

boisterous laughter

2

: vigorously active : stormy

boisterously adverb

boisterousness noun