rowdier; rowdiest
: coarse or boisterous in behavior : rough
also
: characterized by such behavior
rowdy local bars
Synonyms
Examples of rowdy in a Sentence
Adjective
a rowdy game of basketball
a rowdy but good-natured group of teenagers
Noun
rowdies had overtaken the neighborhood and were threatening people on the street
Recent Examples on the Web
Margaret Farrell, SPIN, 4 Apr. 2024
Colman plays Edith, an uptight spinster who lives with her elderly parents, and Buckley plays her rowdy Irish neighbor Rose.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
The city is known for its spring break parties, which have occasionally turned rowdy.
—Arizona Republic, The Arizona Republic, 29 Mar. 2024
In the fourth century B.C., the poet Eubulus wrote a humorous verse about drinking parties that often descended from refined to rowdy, quoted in The Deipnosophists.
—Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
Just before entering Bank of America Stadium to their rowdy section behind the goal about an hour prior to kick-off, the fans repeat a chant that corresponds with the drumbeat.
—Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 25 Mar. 2024
Directed by Doug Liman, the new Road House is a reimagining of the one in which late actor Swayze played a hard-hitting bouncer responsible for laying down the law at a rowdy bar.
—Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 23 Mar. 2024
All of them hark back to a rowdy, rough-and-tumble time when movies were content to be vessels of visceral wish fulfillment and mindless, instantly disposable escapism.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Walsh—born in 1887, the year the action begins—films rowdy times rowdily, delighting in the teeming cast’s gimcrack manners and in the raffish early days of the modern sports business.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
Dallas News, 31 Aug. 2022
Anna Kendrick, Michelle Yeoh, and Denzel Washington all got the same rowdy yet amiable energy.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 20 July 2022
Midnight Madness screenings had previously taken place at the Ryerson Theatre, an auditorium on a local college campus and the rowdy, school’s out vibes of the screenings made sense there.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022
Parents, school resource officers and other law enforcement have helped identify young partiers who broke into an $8 million Gulf Coast home to throw a large, unauthorized rowdy party.
—Leada Gore | Lgore@al.com, al, 28 June 2022
Ronnie Hawkins, the rowdy rockabilly singer who was instrumental in the formation of the pioneering Americana group the Band, died on Sunday.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2022
This year’s class of 29er trail bikes can handle the same rowdy riding as longer-travel machines, albeit with slightly slower speeds and more careful line choices.
—Josh Patterson, Outside Online, 23 May 2020
Houstonians are not likely to receive the worst of it, but strong winds and a blitz of rowdy thunderstorms could make things interesting for commuters over the next 24 hours.
—Dan Carson, Chron, 29 Mar. 2022
Acton was known for getting the crowd rowdy during key moments, especially when the Cardinals were playing rivals like Memphis or Kentucky and needed the inspiration to close out the game.
—Kala Kachmar, The Courier-Journal, 29 Mar. 2022
Adjective
Gustaf – Package Pt. 2 Royal Mountain Records New York no-wave group Gustaf use their rowdy, thorny songs to poke and prod the irritating and ridiculous questions about being a sentient invasive species on this spinning globe.
—Margaret Farrell, SPIN, 4 Apr. 2024
Colman plays Edith, an uptight spinster who lives with her elderly parents, and Buckley plays her rowdy Irish neighbor Rose.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
The city is known for its spring break parties, which have occasionally turned rowdy.
—Arizona Republic, The Arizona Republic, 29 Mar. 2024
In the fourth century B.C., the poet Eubulus wrote a humorous verse about drinking parties that often descended from refined to rowdy, quoted in The Deipnosophists.
—Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024
Just before entering Bank of America Stadium to their rowdy section behind the goal about an hour prior to kick-off, the fans repeat a chant that corresponds with the drumbeat.
—Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 25 Mar. 2024
Directed by Doug Liman, the new Road House is a reimagining of the one in which late actor Swayze played a hard-hitting bouncer responsible for laying down the law at a rowdy bar.
—Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 23 Mar. 2024
All of them hark back to a rowdy, rough-and-tumble time when movies were content to be vessels of visceral wish fulfillment and mindless, instantly disposable escapism.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Walsh—born in 1887, the year the action begins—films rowdy times rowdily, delighting in the teeming cast’s gimcrack manners and in the raffish early days of the modern sports business.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
Noun
The Horned Frogs have more talent and experience than the Buffaloes but will have to battle the heightened elevation and the rowdy, Colorado home-field advantage.
—Dallas News, 31 Aug. 2022
Anna Kendrick, Michelle Yeoh, and Denzel Washington all got the same rowdy yet amiable energy.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 20 July 2022
Midnight Madness screenings had previously taken place at the Ryerson Theatre, an auditorium on a local college campus and the rowdy, school’s out vibes of the screenings made sense there.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022
Parents, school resource officers and other law enforcement have helped identify young partiers who broke into an $8 million Gulf Coast home to throw a large, unauthorized rowdy party.
—Leada Gore | Lgore@al.com, al, 28 June 2022
Ronnie Hawkins, the rowdy rockabilly singer who was instrumental in the formation of the pioneering Americana group the Band, died on Sunday.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2022
This year’s class of 29er trail bikes can handle the same rowdy riding as longer-travel machines, albeit with slightly slower speeds and more careful line choices.
—Josh Patterson, Outside Online, 23 May 2020
Houstonians are not likely to receive the worst of it, but strong winds and a blitz of rowdy thunderstorms could make things interesting for commuters over the next 24 hours.
—Dan Carson, Chron, 29 Mar. 2022
Acton was known for getting the crowd rowdy during key moments, especially when the Cardinals were playing rivals like Memphis or Kentucky and needed the inspiration to close out the game.
—Kala Kachmar, The Courier-Journal, 29 Mar. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rowdy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near rowdy
Cite this Entry
“Rowdy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rowdy. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rowdy
1 of 2 adjective
row·dy
ˈrau̇d-ē 
rowdier; rowdiest
: rough or loud in behavior
rowdiness
noun
rowdy
2 of 2 noun
plural rowdies
: a rowdy person
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