raucous

1 of 2

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

raucousness

2 of 2

noun

rau·​cous·​ness

ˈrȯ-kəs-nəs

plural -es

: the quality or state of being raucous

Synonyms of raucous

Adjective

• boisterous
• rowdy
• rambunctious
• lively
• rollicking
• noisy
• rumbustious
• robustious
• violent

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

Adjective

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

Adjective

Gabby Williams and Tiffany Hayes scored 15 points apiece in the first of back-to-back matchups between the teams at Chase Center, where a raucous sellout crowd cheered Golden State ending a two-game skid that followed a nine-game winning streak. — ABC News, 2 Aug. 2026

Food people are normally a raucous, emotive bunch, but there was a tightness in the air as folks arrived and took their seats. — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2026

Eala has drawn raucous crowds of Filipino supporters wherever she’s played over the past 12 months. — Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 2 Aug. 2026

Newcastle’s home had been the scene of raucous celebration that Thursday evening, a reaction to the news the penny-pinching Mike Ashley era was over and, more notably, that he had been replaced by the richest sovereign wealth fund on Earth. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Latin raucus hoarse; akin to Latin ravis hoarseness

First Known Use

Adjective

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