1
as in debris
discarded or useless material
the sight of piles and piles of riffraff at the town dump was a sobering reminder that we are indeed a society of consumers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rabble
people looked down upon as ignorant and of the lowest class
local ordinances that are intended to keep the riffraff out of the town
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of riffraff
Lawyers, journalists and similar riffraff congregated at lunch or after work, and Vincent worked the room, table-hopping with jokes or movie reviews or tales from his latest intriguing trip.
—
Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 8 Sep. 2024
The bar’s owner, Frankie (a spirited Jessica Williams), has hired Dalton to purge the riffraff, the better to realize her dream of making the Road House a respectable joint worthy of destination weddings and romantic getaways.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Bypass the riffraff and turn your ideas into something concrete.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2024
William is ready for the task and has no intention of being killed by rebels or any other riffraff in the forests of Virginia.
—Lincee Ray, EW.com, 8 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for riffraff
Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 8 Sep. 2024
The bar’s owner, Frankie (a spirited Jessica Williams), has hired Dalton to purge the riffraff, the better to realize her dream of making the Road House a respectable joint worthy of destination weddings and romantic getaways.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Bypass the riffraff and turn your ideas into something concrete.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2024
William is ready for the task and has no intention of being killed by rebels or any other riffraff in the forests of Virginia.
—Lincee Ray, EW.com, 8 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for riffraff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riffraff
Noun
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Fernando is looking to eventually publish a catalog of seismically tracked, entering space objects, while improving future calculations by factoring in the wind’s effect on falling debris.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
-
During all that time, miniscule rocks and debris should continue to to collide and merge into the building blocks of future gas and terrestrial planets.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Tanner spoke in a blend of political rabble-rousing and entrepreneurial uplift.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
21 Jan. 2026
-
There’s something quite magical, really, about millions of bits of colorful paper flying like snow through the air over a raucous rabble.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Installed on the former garbage dump bounded by Sunset, Lewis, Western and Glen Flora avenues, there are now 20,000 solar panels.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Jan. 2026
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Rescuers retrieved eight people alive and were searching for the missing still trapped after a huge mound of garbage and debris collapsed on them in the village of Binaliw in Cebu city, police said.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Tourists are urged to lock up their food and trash, and anglers instructed to bury any bait that may attract scavengers.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
24 Jan. 2026
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Transcripts from nearly a century ago show a city meeting where concerns were voiced about sharp pieces of wood on the south ramp of the pier causing injury to beachgoers who were seeking first aid, sweeping currents pushing people into the pier and trash left behind by the influx of visitors.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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And there’s the rub, because in reality nobody outside is actually or substantially helping defend the populace against the regime’s onslaught.—
Melik Kaylan,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
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Our populace is broadly wealthy.—
Marc Novicoff,
The Atlantic,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Researchers revealed that the high-voltage output facilitates the neutralization and collection of dust and moisture by generating negative ions.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Jan. 2026
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Adding a dust ruffle around the base of your bed can make this spot even better for keeping messy items hidden.—
Lauren Landers,
The Spruce,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Most of that toxic junk was never found, Fernando added.—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
24 Jan. 2026
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There’s so much junk in Eggleston’s pictures.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But putting on a tux and celebrating with an administration that is rapidly falling out of step with the global public — which their shareholders are members of — is different from staying silent.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
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But the deadly shootings this month by federal agents of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti have once again forcefully shifted the administration’s focus onto the highly controversial issues that have divided the American public.—
Brianne Pfannenstiel,
Des Moines Register,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Riffraff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riffraff. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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