Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words
1

ruffle

play
verb ruf·fle \ˈrə-fəl\

Definition of ruffle

ruffled

;

ruffling

play \-f(ə-)liŋ\
  1. transitive verb

  2. 1a :  roughen, abradeb :  trouble, vex is not ruffled by such barbs — Bruce Anderson

  3. 2 :  to erect in or like a ruff :  to cause to rise or bristle a bird ruffling its feathers

  4. 3a :  to flip through ruffle the pages of a bookb :  shuffle

  5. 4 :  to make into a ruffle

  6. intransitive verb

  7. :  to become ruffled their dispositions ruffle perceptibly — Life

See ruffle defined for English-language learners

See ruffle defined for kids

Explore M-W

alt-599ca1388698f
Drawing a Conclusion About "Sketchy"
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
a-woman-waits-at-the-end-of-a-gloomy-pier-does-she-wait-for-charon-the-ferryman-to-the-underworld-it-is-dark-but-she-carries-a-parasol
Vocabulary Thrives in Darkness
time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Examples of ruffle in a Sentence

  1. Her hair was ruffled by the wind.

  2. He ruffled some people with his constant complaining.

Origin and Etymology of ruffle

Middle English ruffelen; akin to Low German ruffelen to crumple

ruffle Synonyms

Synonyms
aggravate, annoy, bother, bug, burn (up), chafe, eat, exasperate, frost, gall, get, grate, gripe, hack (off), irk, itch, nark [British], nettle, peeve, persecute, pique, put out, rasp, rile, irritate, spite, vex
Related Words
hassle, heckle; nag; inflame (also enflame), provoke, rouse; badger, bait, bullyrag (also ballyrag), devil, hagride, harass, harry, pester, plague, tease; anger, antagonize, enrage, incense, infuriate, madden, rankle, roil; agitate, discomfort, discompose, disquiet, distress, exercise, freak (out), fret, perturb, undo, unhinge, unsettle, upset, worry; affront, insult, miff, offend, outrage
Near Antonyms
appease, conciliate, mollify, oblige, pacify, placate, propitiate; delight, gladden, gratify, please, satisfy; assure, cheer, comfort, console, content, quiet, reassure, solace, soothe
2

ruffle

noun ruf·fle

Definition of ruffle

  1. 1 :  commotion, brawl

  2. 2 :  a state or cause of irritation

  3. 3a :  a strip of fabric gathered or pleated on one edgeb :  2ruff 2

  4. 4 :  an unevenness or disturbance of surface :  ripple

ruffly

play \ˈrə-f(ə-)lē\ adjective

First Known Use of ruffle

1534

3

ruffle

noun ruf·fle

Definition of ruffle

  1. :  a low vibrating drumbeat less loud than a roll

Origin and Etymology of ruffle

ruff a drumbeat

Phrases Related to RUFFLE

Related Phrases

RUFFLE Defined for English Language Learners

ruffle

play
verb

Definition of ruffle for English Language Learners

  • : to move or lift (something) so that it is no longer smooth

  • : to make (someone) irritated, annoyed, worried, etc.

RUFFLE Defined for Kids

1

ruffle

play
verb ruf·fle \ˈrə-fəl\

Definition of ruffle for Students

ruffled

;

ruffling

  1. 1 :  to move or lift so as to disturb the smoothness of The waters of Bird Lake were ruffled by the strong, mighty wind … — E. B. White, The Trumpet of the Swan

  2. 2 :  2trouble 1, vex You're so calm. Nothing ever ruffles you.

2

ruffle

play
noun ruf·fle

Definition of ruffle for Students

  1. :  a strip of fabric gathered or pleated on one edge

Learn More about ruffle

  1. See words that rhyme with ruffle Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for ruffle Spanish Central: Translation of ruffle Nglish: Translation of ruffle for Spanish speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up ruffle? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

flagrant

play

conspicuously offensive

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. Svengali 'A person who manipulates'

  2. syzygy An obscure astronomy term goes mainstream

  3. hegemon "Something having dominant influence over others"

  4. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

  5. white nationalist, white supremacist Trending in 2017

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

ruffle

Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

  • time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
  • Which came first?
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Dictionary Devil

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-599ca1388698f
Drawing a Conclusion About "Sketchy"

How did "sketchy" come to describe creeps?

2-pairs-of-scissors
What's the Singular of 'Scissors'?

A tricky, double-edged word origin.

a-woman-waits-at-the-end-of-a-gloomy-pier-does-she-wait-for-charon-the-ferryman-to-the-underworld-it-is-dark-but-she-carries-a-parasol
Great Words for Twilight and Darkness

Words for the goth in all of us

bunch-of-yellow-balloons-lit-by-the-sun
Helium: This Word Brought to You by a Solar Eclipse

And by the Sun, with some help from Greek.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
name-more-food
Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Dictionary Devil
Dictionary Devil

The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?

Play the game
Examples: ruffle in a Sentence