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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After 40 years beachside (and gaining a casual, semi-riotous rep for all the day-drinking amid the sand and surf), the Independent Spirit Awards has shacked up at the Hollywood Palladium.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
16 Feb. 2026
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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
Adjective
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Bilodeau has boisterous moments.—
Aaron Heisen,
Daily News,
3 Mar. 2026
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The classic posture is that the CEO needs to exhibit charisma, which is often characterized as boisterous, dominant and loud.—
Neil Senturia,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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After his release, LaBeouf was seen drinking a beer and posing with fans while watching the rowdy festivities.—
Cheyenne Roundtree,
Rolling Stone,
26 Feb. 2026
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For generations, the Peso has remained familiar, whether for an afternoon beer and a round of pool, a rowdy nightcap, a rite-of-passage drink after turning 21 or the annual Thanksgiving Eve reunion revelry.—
Leanne Battelle,
Mercury News,
24 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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The major resorts anchor raucous, nonstop nightlife—live music, rooftop bars, bowling alleys, arcades, and late-night eats.—
Ted Alvarez,
Outside,
4 Mar. 2026
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The raucous crowd certainly made a difference.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In its early days, the UFC was so violent, with almost no rules, that it was effectively exiled to pay-per-view.—
Luke Burbank,
CBS News,
1 Mar. 2026
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As the material appears to shift from soft to hard, the outward and downward movements of the tubes no longer suggest the gentle pressure of filling and escaping air, but imply a decidedly more violent bending and crushing of metal, as if the tubes had been pushed out of shape against their will.—
Gordon Hughes,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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But in its political culture the corruption was inescapable, and, like the city itself, carnivalesque.—
James Verini,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
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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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Cite this Entry
“Ruffianly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruffianly. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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