raucous

adjective

rau·​cous ˈrȯ-kəs 

1

: disagreeably harsh or strident : hoarse

raucous voices

2

: boisterously disorderly

a … raucous frontier town

—Truman Capote

raucously adverb

raucousness noun

Synonyms

• boisterous
• rowdy
• rambunctious
• lively
• rollicking
• noisy
• rumbustious [chiefly British]
• violent
• robustious

Choose the Right Synonym for raucous

loud, stentorian, earsplitting, raucous, strident mean marked by intensity or volume of sound.

loud applies to any volume above normal and may suggest undue vehemence or obtrusiveness.

loud shouts of protest

stentorian implies great power and range.

an actor with a stentorian voice

earsplitting implies loudness that is physically discomforting.

the earsplitting sound of a siren

raucous implies a loud harsh grating tone, especially of voice, and may suggest rowdiness.

the raucous shouts of drunken revelers

strident implies a rasping discordant but insistent quality, especially of voice.

the strident voices of hecklers

Examples of raucous in a Sentence

He stepped over one man, avoided a raucous group of inebriated merchant seamen staggering for their boats, ran up his steps into the large foyer … —James Clavell, Gai-Jin, 1994

The scene was reminiscent of a college fraternity reunion, with plenty of backslapping, joking, hugging and raucous laughter. —Lewis Beale, Chicago Tribune, 15 Feb. 1987

On the ledge of rock above this strange couple there stood three solemn buzzards, who, at the sight of the new comers uttered raucous screams of disappointment and flapped sullenly away. —Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, 1887

the partying neighbors kept up their raucous laughter half the night

Recent Examples on the Web

Reporters were not allowed to attend the meeting, but the raucous crowd could be heard from outside. —Vanessa Romo, NPR, 7 July 2025

Johnson was then lauded with the award statuette, to another round of raucous applause. —Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 6 July 2025

All three debated Tuesday night before a raucous crowd at the Covedale Center for Performing Arts in West Price Hill. —Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 4 July 2025

Loretta Lynn, a fellow Kentuckian, has her legacy’s imprint all over the raucous party anthem. —Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin raucus hoarse; akin to Latin ravis hoarseness

First Known Use

1769, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for raucous

• caucus
• coccus
• glaucous
• glaucus
• cryptococcus
• diplococcus
• gonococcus
• micrococcus
• pneumococcus
• streptococcus
• echinococcus
• enterococcus

Kids Definition

raucous

adjective

rau·​cous ˈrȯ-kəs 

1

: being harsh and unpleasant

a raucous voice

2

: behaving in a rough and noisy way

a raucous crowd

raucously adverb

raucousness noun