as in raffish
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruffianly
Adjective
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Three or four decades ago, the newspaperman was appealingly raffish—at once a bum who drank too much and a knight-errant who charged unafraid at social injustice, succored the weak, and crossed lances with the powerful and arrogant.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025 -
A little lowly courier work, yes, but nothing more raffish than that.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The quest to fathom the riotous diversity of nature is absorbingly told in a virtual double biography of the great taxonomist Carl Linnaeus and his contemporary, the count of Buffon.—
Ian Tattersall,
The New York Review of Books,
5 Feb. 2026
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This was a riotous, thrilling way to bring the curtain down on a five-and-a-half week spell which could come to define their entire season come May.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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After two weeks of filming in Kansas City, the cast and crew of ended their stay in Kansas City with a boisterous wrap party in a private karaoke suite at Offkey in Westport.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
3 Feb. 2026
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Koreatown’s many casual but boisterous offerings also await.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The changes follow several years of strict measures after a series of rowdy and sometimes violent spring break incidents in 2021.—
Ivan Taylor,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
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Hisatsune was at 5 under after two birdies on the front nine, then electrified the rowdy crowds by going 6 under in a five-hole stretch — highlighted by his chip-in at 17 — to reach 11-under 131.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Customers at Starbucks will be introduced to a new interface with a carnival-style wheel.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA TODAY,
30 Mar. 2023
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Transform your salad spinner into a carnival-style spin art machine.—
Lauren Piro,
Good Housekeeping,
31 Oct. 2022
Adjective
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He is most known for catch opposing point guards off-guard with steals from behind in the back court, a move sure to elicit a raucous, standing ovation when performed for the first time in front of the Madison Square Garden faithful.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
5 Feb. 2026
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Nashville scored to take the lead, and hit the post, within the opening minute of the middle frame, pushing the Wild back on their heels and getting the raucous crowd back in the game.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Now polling suggests the public, and even Republican leaders in Congress, have stopped buying the White House’s claims that federal agents’ paramilitary-style raids only target violent criminals.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
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The takeover of the arts is less violent and a bit more insidious, but just as dangerous in its own right.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Kaddu embodies the carnivalesque spirit of the NFL in London, which has been hosting regular-season games since 2007.—
Erin Florio,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Feb. 2026
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But by the mid-1930s, Soviet leaders sensed that people needed something to take the edge off in the dead of winter, a carnivalesque custom of the sort that Christmas once provided.—
Andrew Fedorov,
The Atlantic,
31 Dec. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Ruffianly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruffianly. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
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