ruffianly

adjective

Definition of ruffianlynext
as in raffish

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruffianly
  1. raffish
  2. riotous
  3. boisterous
  4. rowdy
  5. carnival
  6. raucous
  7. violent
  8. carnivalesque
Adjective
  • So did the holdout Grealish tragics; those of us who still cling to the memories of his raffish breakout years.
    — David Ornstein, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • And then there's a top-of-his-game Chevy Chase as a devil-may-care golfer and Bill Murray as a raffish groundskeeper.
    — Jesse Hassenger, Entertainment Weekly, 18 June 2026
Definition of raffish
Adjective
  • After a brief intermission, Toliver and Todd emerged onstage to riotous applause, hiking up the decibel levels in the room.
    — Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The riotous 640-page doorstopper grapples with homophobia then and now, the lingering specter of colonialism, the tumult of the AIDS crisis, and frameworks of power that demand dominance or submission.
    — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of riotous
Adjective
  • It’s known for its fresh seafood in a boisterous, almost beer-hall atmosphere.
    — Christopher Solomon, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2026
  • During the first Senate debate of the cycle in September at the Kansas State Fairgrounds, Marshall was repeatedly heckled and interrupted by boisterous audience members.
    — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of boisterous
Adjective
  • Still, devotees of John Waters, Sean Baker, Todd Solondz and the Safdie brothers will sense that DeFalco is a kindred spirit, a filmmaker with an open-minded curiosity about the rowdier parts of the human zoo.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Having been raised in a very golf-centric family myself, what struck me about your experience is how rowdy the tournament crowds have gotten.
    — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of rowdy
Adjective
  • One of the biggest pre-carnival fetes on the island, Caribbean Melting Pot at the Carnival Village, features superstar soca acts like Machel Montano and Skinny Fabulous yet still charges under USD $40 a ticket.
    — Baz Dreisinger, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Customers at Starbucks will be introduced to a new interface with a carnival-style wheel.
    — Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2023
Definition of carnival
Adjective
  • Williams scored 28 of her 30 points in the second half and the Valkyries celebrated their first championship — in their second season in the league — in front of their raucous Ballhalla home crowd.
    — Lauren Williams, AJC.com, 1 Nov. 2026
  • But in those days, battle scenes were always accompanied by kind of raucous music.
    — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of raucous
Adjective
  • The teen also faces an allegation of having a prior conviction for a violent offense, which qualifies as a strike under California law.
    — Richard Ramos, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Bass attempted to reverse her fortunes by touting her administration’s progress in reducing violent crime, fast-tracking affordable housing and bringing down unsheltered homelessness — the number of people living outside and in their cars — by 11%.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of violent
Adjective
  • Luhansk, this terra incognita of the independent Ukraine, is described in almost carnivalesque terms, but this is a carnival infused with absurdity and even cruelty.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Overall, there is a driving energy to the album as well as a haunted carnivalesque atmosphere.
    — Vogue, Vogue, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of carnivalesque
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.

Browse Nearby Words

ruffian
ruffianly
ruffians
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ruffianly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruffianly. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All