rambunctious

adjective

ram-ˈbəŋk-shəs How to pronounce rambunctious (audio)
Definition of rambunctiousnext
as in boisterous
being rough or noisy in a high-spirited way that beach is often taken over by packs of rambunctious young people, so don't go there expecting peace and quiet

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rambunctious Salonen was back this year, a bit less rambunctious than before, secure in his status as one of the major musical figures of our time. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 29 June 2026 Here’s help The Tartan Army took over Miami Scottish fans are enthusiastic, rambunctious, loud and — more than anything — organized. — Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 25 June 2026 Paré-Poupart’s style gives his book a rambunctious spirit, a sense of a hungry, catholic mind at work. — Literary Hub, 25 June 2026 And the mess wasn’t just localized to the trash can—there were husks everywhere, like rose petals tossed by a rambunctious 4-year-old flower girl thrilled to be at her first wedding. — Josh Miller, Southern Living, 12 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for rambunctious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rambunctious
  1. boisterous
  2. rowdy
  3. raucous
  4. lively
  5. rumbustious
  6. rollicking
  7. noisy
  8. violent
Adjective
  • Over six weeks of World Cup play, boisterous watch parties strengthened that claim, helping draw more than 900,000 visits downtown.
    — Ryan Macasero, Mercury News, 19 July 2026
  • In front of a boisterous Royal Birkdale crowd, the final round of the 2026 Open absolutely delivered.
    — Justin Ray, New York Times, 19 July 2026
Definition of boisterous
Adjective
  • Audiences interested in the rock side of Lollapalooza will surely want to check out their early-evening set on the Bud Light stage, where fans will hopefully mosh and get rowdy.
    — Britt Julious, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2026
  • After another week of comments, controversy and consternation, Tarik Skubal ran onto the mound Friday to cheers from a rowdy Comerica Park crowd.
    — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 25 July 2026
Definition of rowdy
Adjective
  • The first walk-off home run of Clemens’ career set off a raucous celebration in the clubhouse, as the Twins went from having no pulse to running a marathon, delivering an unbelievable 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals at Target Field.
    — Dan Hayes, New York Times, 31 July 2026
  • Apple employees were banned after a raucous night of celebrations, but were welcomed back decades later when Marc & Rose Hospitality purchased the hotel in 2011.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 July 2026
Definition of raucous
Adjective
  • Players have long complained about less-lively balls that force them to swing harder to hit them through the court.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 30 July 2026
  • The pilot sets up interesting tensions between Duke and surrogate father Kingsley and a livelier adversarial role for Pinnock, but Kingsley is gone for the majority of the six episodes (out of eight) sent to critics and Pinnock’s absence is felt.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2026
Definition of lively
Adjective
  • The movie is both exquisite and rumbustious, stylized and energized.
    — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 May 2022
  • Still, there’s a lot of pleasing vitality to this great American story about how clever brewers took an ancient idea and unlocked an unheard-of range of innovations with a combination of capitalist energy and rumbustious creativity.
    — Kyle Smith, National Review, 18 Apr. 2021
Definition of rumbustious
Adjective
  • Murphy then appeared on stage to a rollicking standing ovation and made his way to his place at the dais toward the back of the room.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 19 Apr. 2026
  • Those self-aware lyrics are paired with breezy melody and a gently rollicking rhythm, making this feel like a freewheeling summertime favorite.
    — Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 24 Mar. 2026
Definition of rollicking
Adjective
  • As work proceeds, plumes of sand have clouded waters near endangered coral and conchs while noisy excavators drown out waves along the popular beach next to Port Everglades.
    — Jenny Staletovich, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026
  • Sitting next to Martin Scorsese and the designer Marc Jacobs on the album cover is the group’s multi-instrumentalist John Cale, rock’s god of noisy, dignified experimentation.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
Definition of noisy
Adjective
  • Michael was arrested two days later, per Denver TV station KUSA, and charged with first-degree murder, use of a weapon in a violent crime, theft of $100 to $500, and abuse of a corpse.
    — Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Crime reached a breaking point that summer after a drive-by shooting killed a man at Progress Park, topping off a string of violent incidents in the neighborhood just northeast of uptown Charlotte.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of violent

Browse Nearby Words

ramblings
rambunctious
rambunctiousness
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Rambunctious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rambunctious. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on rambunctious

Nglish: Translation of rambunctious for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Jul. 31

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All