as in crass
lacking in refinement or good taste
the dowager cringed at the thought of raffish tourists in rough boots tromping all over her Persian rugs
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Recent Examples of raffish
The sun was setting, leaving a band of neon orange clinging to the horizon; around us, raffish cliques sipped esoteric cocktails, shared platters of roast chicken, flitted between languages, and seemed, to my eyes, immune to worldly stress.
—
David Amsden, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2024
The present headquarters of the Andy Warhol Factory are, despite the raffish image, surprisingly elegant and ordered: typewriters click, business machines whir, telephones ring and are answered by trim and efficient secretaries.
—Stephen Birmingham, Town & Country, 10 Aug. 2023
Indeed, weren’t these childish fantasies of escape, these raffish homages to crime flicks, already passé when the film was made five decades ago?
—Hazlitt, 2 Dec. 2022
Although Clodagh ignores the warnings of the General’s raffish agent Mr. Dean (Alessandro Nivola), isolation and illness soon take their toll, with the haunting atmosphere of the palace particularly affecting volatile Sister Ruth (Aisling Franciosi).
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 21 Sep. 2020
See All Example Sentences for raffish
David Amsden, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2024
The present headquarters of the Andy Warhol Factory are, despite the raffish image, surprisingly elegant and ordered: typewriters click, business machines whir, telephones ring and are answered by trim and efficient secretaries.
—Stephen Birmingham, Town & Country, 10 Aug. 2023
Indeed, weren’t these childish fantasies of escape, these raffish homages to crime flicks, already passé when the film was made five decades ago?
—Hazlitt, 2 Dec. 2022
Although Clodagh ignores the warnings of the General’s raffish agent Mr. Dean (Alessandro Nivola), isolation and illness soon take their toll, with the haunting atmosphere of the palace particularly affecting volatile Sister Ruth (Aisling Franciosi).
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 21 Sep. 2020
See All Example Sentences for raffish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for raffish
Adjective
-
The beloved slapstick comedy is 85 minutes of pure entertainment, full of increasingly chaotic adventures and shockingly crass jokes that still produce guffaws decades later.—
Rachel Simon,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
-
In a not crass way, no matter what your vice of choice is, someone who enables that behavior, even just by being there, is a really relatable idea.—
Nicole Fell,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Doncic claimed Bitadze directed a vulgar comment about Doncic’s family in Serbian toward the Lakers star guard.—
Broderick Turner,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Tensions rose, neighbors said, to the point that King was heard at times swearing at Kirsten Wells as well as others using vulgar epithets.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Politically incorrect and in-your-face, with plenty of dark humor accentuating the drama, the show resembles the more cutting-edge TV — think Borgen or Rita — made by Sweden’s ruder neighbor Denmark.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Etiquette neither knows nor cares who is generous and who is stingy, and indecisive and rude are not opposites.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
And that can be sorely lacking in hair that’s lost pigment and become coarser with a rougher cuticle.—
Valerie Monroe,
Allure,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Dredge in flour mixture again, pressing to adhere in a coarse layer.—
Jesse Szewczyk,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The year was 1754, and Franklin's goal was to unite the disparate colonies into a coalition against a common enemy.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Sei whales are endangered and are common in the Southeast's waters.—
Alexa Herrera,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Raffish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/raffish. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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