as in boisterous
being rough or noisy in a high-spirited way
while American university debates tend to be sedate affairs, their counterparts in Oxford are wholeheartedly rumbustious
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Recent Examples of rumbustious
Around this time, the outfit’s quirky, lightly rumbustious songs began to resonate across British press and radio; accessible while containing a marked dose of strangeness, Fontaine’s songwriting – at once emotionally raw and witty – boasted a strong multi-generational appeal.
—
Sophie Williams, Billboard, 8 May 2025
The movie is both exquisite and rumbustious, stylized and energized.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 May 2022
From 1657, when tea first became available in London’s coffeehouses, to the early seventeen-hundreds, when women were invited in, recreational tea drinking was the preserve of rumbustious gentlemen.
—David Kortava, The New Yorker, 17 Dec. 2021
Still, there’s a lot of pleasing vitality to this great American story about how clever brewers took an ancient idea and unlocked an unheard-of range of innovations with a combination of capitalist energy and rumbustious creativity.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 18 Apr. 2021
The tech titans, with their somewhat rumbustious Bay Area staffers, look quite vulnerable.
—The Economist, 22 June 2020
In August Tito Mboweni, his rumbustious finance minister, published a paper proposing sweeping yet doable reforms.
—The Economist, 19 Oct. 2019
Another popular view holds that Mr Trump’s rude and rumbustious character is really a merit in a time of great geopolitical and spiritual danger.
—The Economist, 5 July 2019
Ausilia, destined for spinsterhood, switches her spying from the lovers to the rumbustious, intimidating Jewish family who gather around the couple.
—Tim Parks, Harper's magazine, 10 Feb. 2019
Sophie Williams, Billboard, 8 May 2025
The movie is both exquisite and rumbustious, stylized and energized.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 May 2022
From 1657, when tea first became available in London’s coffeehouses, to the early seventeen-hundreds, when women were invited in, recreational tea drinking was the preserve of rumbustious gentlemen.
—David Kortava, The New Yorker, 17 Dec. 2021
Still, there’s a lot of pleasing vitality to this great American story about how clever brewers took an ancient idea and unlocked an unheard-of range of innovations with a combination of capitalist energy and rumbustious creativity.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 18 Apr. 2021
The tech titans, with their somewhat rumbustious Bay Area staffers, look quite vulnerable.
—The Economist, 22 June 2020
In August Tito Mboweni, his rumbustious finance minister, published a paper proposing sweeping yet doable reforms.
—The Economist, 19 Oct. 2019
Another popular view holds that Mr Trump’s rude and rumbustious character is really a merit in a time of great geopolitical and spiritual danger.
—The Economist, 5 July 2019
Ausilia, destined for spinsterhood, switches her spying from the lovers to the rumbustious, intimidating Jewish family who gather around the couple.
—Tim Parks, Harper's magazine, 10 Feb. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rumbustious
Adjective
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Amid the noise on Nashville’s bright, boisterous Broadway strip, Robert’s Western World stands alone with its (relatively) quiet reverence for Nashville’s spirit — the one that existed before the crowds.—
Mackensy Lunsford,
The Tennessean,
1 Aug. 2025
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To thwart it, Frank teams up with a fellow-officer (Paul Walter Hauser) and a victim’s sister (Pamela Anderson), and some of the boisterous humor is playfully ribald.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
However, as is the subject of the summer 2025 concert film Gary Numan: A Perfect Circle, Numan charted his way back to the arena 41 years after his retirement performances, where he was greeted by a raucous audience that had awaited his return all along.—
Paul Fitzgerald,
Rolling Stone,
12 Aug. 2025
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Joining the din of already raucous sequel-mania, studios have offered audiences revival after revival aimed at capturing coming-of-age nostalgia.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Our trip being in late fall, the doors were closed and the place empty and blissfully silent—a restorative experience for parents of a rambunctious nine-year-old.—
Kinsey Giddick,
Travel + Leisure,
3 Aug. 2025
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Counteracting that are the touching scenes where the trio bond with and care for sled dogs (rambunctious Billy is my favorite) at the school.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The area of Bardstown Road in the Highlands has been a point of focus for Greenberg and Louisville Metro Police in the wake of several instances of rowdy patrons causing disturbances in the area earlier in Summer 2025.—
Lillian Metzmeier,
Louisville Courier Journal,
12 Aug. 2025
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The 48-year-old Chico resident said he was also disheartened by the rowdy crowd, which shouted over much of LaMalfa’s response to his question.—
Nicole Nixon,
Sacbee.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Joy’s jazzy, smoky version of the Marvin Gaye classic, coupled with her velvety vocals, sparked another rollicking ovation led by John who was the first to stand up.—
Gail Mitchell,
Billboard,
4 Feb. 2023
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His setlist, a rollicking walk-down-memory-lane of solo hits, NKOTB favorites, standards, show tunes and cover songs, showcased his range as an entertainer, musical virtuoso and keen collaborator.—
Sonal Dutt,
Peoplemag,
23 Jan. 2023
Adjective
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Its Crown Kids Club pulses with creativity—think gooey slime-making, art workshops, kids’ gymnastics, and lively Pokémon shows—plus a dedicated cinema, a LEGO playroom, a mini kitchen workshop, and a glittering Princess Spa.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 2025
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The lively multi-cultural party band Kotoko Brass plays on Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. on Guilford Green Stage One.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
10 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The noisy ones have either hope or larceny in their souls.—
Chip Bell,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
-
Rez said platforms should build internal mechanisms that elevated antisemitism protections above noisy or majority-sourced signals in training.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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There ended up being a fire in the shop, and police discovered the victims (again, content warning for a violent crime), naked, tied up, burned, shot in the head with at least one of them having been raped.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Shortly thereafter, Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections and staged a violent coup to overthrow the Palestinian Authority and seize control of the Strip.—
Amelie Botbol,
FOXNews.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rumbustious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rumbustious. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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