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Rambunctious first appeared in print in the early half of the 19th century, at a time when the fast-growing United States was forging its identity and indulging in a fashion for colorful new coinages suggestive of the young nation's optimism and exuberance. Rip-roaring, scalawag, scrumptious, hornswoggle, and skedaddle are other examples of the lively language of that era. Did Americans alter the largely British rumbustious because it sounded, well, British? That could be. Rumbustious, which first appeared in Britain in the late 1700s just after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was probably based on robustious, a much older adjective meaning both "robust" and "boisterous."
Synonyms of rambunctious
Adjective
Examples of rambunctious in a Sentence
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 June 2026
Meaning, in her mind, more rambunctious.
—Audrey Schmidt, PEOPLE, 4 June 2026
The disputes reflect the deep divisions that have long plagued the rambunctious Asian democracy.
—Jim Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
The rambunctious anniversary parties.
—Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for rambunctious
Cite this Entry
“Rambunctious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rambunctious. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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rambunctious
adjective
