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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of raffish
There’s an over-the-top and overdressed fish out of water (me), a raffish Englishmen homesick for Great Britain (my husband Aidan, who will be mortified to read any of this), and an ensemble of quirky characters.
—
Mosha Lundström Halbert, Vogue, 20 Dec. 2024
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
But his hopes had been stirred up watching leading men in Hindi matinees: a grandiose Dilip Kumar in Naya Daur, a raffish Mithun Chakraborty in Mrigayaa.
—Hazlitt, 28 Apr. 2022
See All Example Sentences for raffish
Mosha Lundström Halbert, Vogue, 20 Dec. 2024
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
But his hopes had been stirred up watching leading men in Hindi matinees: a grandiose Dilip Kumar in Naya Daur, a raffish Mithun Chakraborty in Mrigayaa.
—Hazlitt, 28 Apr. 2022
See All Example Sentences for raffish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for raffish
Adjective
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In the series adaptation, from creator, executive producer and co-showrunner Turner (Up In The Air, X-Men First Class), a ruthless and crass barbarian is cursed to only use his violence for good, which sends him, his talking axe and a young witch on a road of self discovery, redemption and revenge.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
13 May 2026
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Created by Mike Moreci and Nathan Gooden and edited by Adrian Wassel, Barbaric centers on a ruthless and crass barbarian who is cursed to only use his violence for good, which sends him, his talking axe and a young witch, on a road of self-discovery, redemption and revenge.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2026
Adjective
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Since then, there have been claims of gunfire and a drone used to disrupt the center's operations; vulgar name-calling online targeting Seymour and his wife; and the occasional middle finger raised in passing by other neighbors who have also become involved.—
DANA HEDGPETH THE WASHINGTON POST,
Arkansas Online,
24 May 2026
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The video from a nearby camera phone showed Crow-Armstrong using a vulgar phrase that involved one of his body parts and calling the woman a derogatory name.—
Jon Greenberg,
New York Times,
22 May 2026
Adjective
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There’s a way to do this without being rude.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
24 May 2026
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The strength of your answer doesn’t require you to be rude.—
John Richardson
Attia Qureshi,
CNBC,
22 May 2026
Adjective
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Finer clays, silts and coarser sands would all have been deposited by different processes.—
Geoff Emberling,
The Conversation,
19 May 2026
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Under acceleration, the cabin fills with a coarse engine note that sounds sportier than the actual performance suggests.—
Matthew MacConnell,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
Adjective
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Its inclusion in the ODIN fleet shows the Navy’s interest in integrating anti-drone capabilities into frontline destroyers operating in areas where unmanned systems are becoming increasingly common.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
22 May 2026
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These types of donations are a common tactic for fraudsters to build up the trust of their investors, experts told the Sentinel.—
Annie Martin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Raffish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/raffish. Accessed 26 May. 2026.
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