ruffianly

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruffianly
Adjective
  • A little lowly courier work, yes, but nothing more raffish than that.
    Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The banal village tunes that Mahler altered into sinister mock vulgarities—did these not recall the raffish klezmer bands, the wandering musicians who played at shtetl weddings?
    David Denby, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The Dating Game, the Sundance documentary by Violet Du Feng that’s received a riotous welcome on the festival circuit, is set in China where eligible men vastly outnumber women.
    Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Reid’s score alternates between rhapsody and pandemonium, with the latter winning out in a riotous coda.
    Alex Ross, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The team, after all, is 13-1-3 at home this season — and throughout its four-season tenure has a remarkable home record furnished by one of the most beautifully boisterous fanbases in all of MLS.
    Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 22 Oct. 2025
  • My version is joyous chaos, filled with boisterous friends, rarely featuring a turkey, often ending with cake.
    Editors of Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Before long, Norm had a crew — The Invisibles— a rowdy group of personified conditions who blow off steam at a biker bar.
    David Soren, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025
  • There also are those worried about player and staff safety as rowdy revelers stomp onto the field.
    Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Customers at Starbucks will be introduced to a new interface with a carnival-style wheel.
    Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2023
  • Transform your salad spinner into a carnival-style spin art machine.
    Lauren Piro, Good Housekeeping, 31 Oct. 2022
Adjective
  • Superstar Shohei Ohtani launched a two-run shot to cut the lead down to 11-4, but the momentum still appeared to be on the Blue Jays' side in a raucous Rogers Centre.
    Gabe Smallson, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
  • And that all came into play in Game 1, as the Jays thrashed the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11-4, at a raucous Rogers Centre on Friday night.
    Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Once again, the debate in the book is not over whether or not people should be violent.
    Fiction Non Fiction, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
  • As a result, many legends are connected to its violent past, and its dungeon, in particular, is said to be haunted by tortured souls.
    Sophie Friedman, AFAR Media, 22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • With their flared, fringed petals, the flowers have a carnivalesque presence, but Oppenheim’s spare installation cuts the comedy.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Before last year’s trial, the blocks surrounding the Superior Court in Dedham developed a carnivalesque atmosphere.
    Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 12 Apr. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Ruffianly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruffianly. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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