1
: having a trim or streamlined appearance suggestive of speed
a rakish ship
2
: dashingly or carelessly unconventional : jaunty
rakish clothes
Examples of rakish in a Sentence
Adjective (1)
within a few short years their rakish son had squandered the family fortune on hard liquor and fast cars
Recent Examples on the Web
Lynette Rice, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025
The former is the nerdier, more officious type in his bow tie and sport coat, the latter more rakish, a one-time rabble rouser who’s just happy to have something interesting to do.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
The guiding thread across her work has been intimacy and elegance: like Home, her welcome reimagining of a contemporary art space which ran until 2023; her heartfelt personal photography; and Selasi’s sensual dresses and rakish tailoring in sumptuous, earth tones.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 30 July 2025
Most models bounced around in random directions, leaving rakish tufts of long grass poking up in places where chance hadn't pointed the mower yet.
—Loz Blain
july 24, New Atlas, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for rakish
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Adjective
In addition, Schwartzman portrays Burton, a rakish vampire leading a cloistered life in an Upper West Side penthouse, while Bogosian plays Daniel Molloy, and Kirk is Talamasca agent Raglan James.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025
The former is the nerdier, more officious type in his bow tie and sport coat, the latter more rakish, a one-time rabble rouser who’s just happy to have something interesting to do.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
The guiding thread across her work has been intimacy and elegance: like Home, her welcome reimagining of a contemporary art space which ran until 2023; her heartfelt personal photography; and Selasi’s sensual dresses and rakish tailoring in sumptuous, earth tones.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 30 July 2025
Most models bounced around in random directions, leaving rakish tufts of long grass poking up in places where chance hadn't pointed the mower yet.
—Loz Blain
july 24, New Atlas, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for rakish
Cite this Entry
“Rakish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rakish. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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Etymology
Adjective
from rake "libertine"
Adjective
from earlier rake "the amount of slope or lean of a ship's mast or the amount of overhang of a ship's bow"
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