raffish

adjective

raff·​ish ˈra-fish 

1

: marked by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity or crudeness

2

: marked by a careless unconventionality : rakish

raffishly adverb

raffishness noun

Did you know?

Raffish combines the English noun raff with the suffix -ish, which in this case means "characteristic of": when we use the word raffish, we literally mean "resembling raff." But what exactly is raff? You might be more familiar with raff's synonym, riffraff, which refers to disreputable people of low social status. Despite the resemblance, these two nouns are distinct in origin. Raff comes directly from the Middle English raf, meaning "rubbish," while riffraff descends from the Anglo-French rif e raf, meaning "altogether." The similarities between raff and riffraff prompted people to start using the two words as synonyms, and raff gained a "rabble" sense. It was that ragtag raff that gave rise to the adjective raffish in the late 1700s.

Synonyms of raffish

• crass
• vulgar
• rude
• coarse
• common
• crude

Examples of raffish in a Sentence

the dowager cringed at the thought of raffish tourists in rough boots tromping all over her Persian rugs

Recent Examples on the Web

And then there's a top-of-his-game Chevy Chase as a devil-may-care golfer and Bill Murray as a raffish groundskeeper. — Jesse Hassenger, Entertainment Weekly, 18 June 2026

Kids join academies as raffish improvisors, little bundles of wild ideas and schemes. — New York Times, 10 June 2026

Slain Supervisor Harvey Milk is raffish in his bust, tossing his head back with his necktie askance — the image is taken from a famous Dan Niccoleto photograph in front of the Castro Camera store. — J.k. Dineen, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Dec. 2025

Three or four decades ago, the newspaperman was appealingly raffish—at once a bum who drank too much and a knight-errant who charged unafraid at social injustice, succored the weak, and crossed lances with the powerful and arrogant. — David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1795, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

raffish

adjective

raff·​ish ˈraf-ish 

1

: vulgarly crude or flashy

raffish language

2

: careless about moral behavior : disreputable

raffishly adverb

raffishness noun