ruffianly

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruffianly
Adjective
  • 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
  • There’s an over-the-top and overdressed fish out of water (me), a raffish Englishmen homesick for Great Britain (my husband Aidan, who will be mortified to read any of this), and an ensemble of quirky characters.
    Mosha Lundström Halbert, Vogue, 20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • If a single song can't propel the right emotional forward motion, maybe a dozen will do so, in the form of a riotous medley.
    Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 8 July 2025
  • Next to them were dozens of baskets of impatiens (shade-loving annuals) in riotous colors.
    Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 7 July 2025
Adjective
  • Hulk Hogan, the blond and boisterous body-slammer who brought pro wrestling into the mainstream in the 1980s while becoming one of the most recognizable celebrities of his generation, died Thursday.
    Rhett Bartlett, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2025
  • River Rose, more timid at the beginning, follows Clarkson's lead and eventually joins in for a more boisterous performance.
    Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 21 July 2025
Adjective
  • This much was clear at a live performance at the Nice Guy in Los Angeles just weeks before her album release — an eruption of playful but thunderous howls that felt more like a rowdy sports arena than an intimate performance.
    Tiana DeNicola, Variety, 1 Aug. 2025
  • The billboards could cheer on resistance efforts ongoing at Republican town-halls, where GOP incumbents are still having issues handling rowdy crowds.
    Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Customers at Starbucks will be introduced to a new interface with a carnival-style wheel.
    Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2023
  • The Square has spooky carnival-style games.
    Annie Alleman, Chicago Tribune, 12 Sep. 2022
Adjective
  • When Gavin Adcock finishes one of his raucous sets, the stage is often slick from a rain of beer and littered with cans and water bottles that fans have tossed onstage — though Adcock has thrown plenty of his own drinks into the crowd, too.
    Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 30 July 2025
  • Meanwhile, from the tail end, a raucous exhaust soundtrack almost borders on egregiously loud.
    Michael Teo Van Runkle, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
Adjective
  • The two got married, had a baby, and started a quiet life together far away from his violent past.
    Allison DeGrushe Published, EW.com, 14 July 2025
  • As droves of tourists continue to flock to Spain for European summer vacations, the nation’s emergency responders are dealing with the aftermath of a violent wave of flash flooding in nearly half of the country’s 50 provinces.
    Opheli Garcia Lawler, Travel + Leisure, 14 July 2025
Adjective
  • The scene outside Pearl Street, following the verdict, was literally carnivalesque, almost nihilistic, as revellers poured baby oil on themselves.
    Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 3 July 2025
  • There was something almost carnivalesque about playing baseball in such miserable conditions.
    Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 5 May 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 6 Aug. 2025.

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