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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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
-
Meanwhile, from the tail end, a raucous exhaust soundtrack almost borders on egregiously loud.—
Michael Teo Van Runkle,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
-
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
Adjective
-
Zeke, on the other hand, is a younger, smaller, more rambunctious type, with a tendency to scale valleys and other parts of the habitat he's not supposed to venture into.—
Grace Tucker,
The Enquirer,
23 July 2025
-
On a brief stakeout at two Duck World establishments, CNBC observed shoppers ranging from rambunctious toddlers to middle-aged tourists.—
Ruxandra Iordache,
CNBC,
23 July 2025
Adjective
-
The law exists to protect documents from fire, theft and rowdy behavior.—
Kaitlyn Keegan,
Hartford Courant,
19 July 2025
-
That frothy film and its title song, which rose to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1961, put Fort Lauderdale on the spring break map — a rowdy reputation the city has distanced itself from for decades.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
17 July 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
There are a few giant screens playing sports located towards the back of the restaurant, and lively music, either from the house speakers or in-person entertainers, sets the mood for a fun meal.—
Ronny Maye,
Forbes.com,
31 July 2025
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But afterward, the musician’s fans transformed a typically morose event into a lively commemoration of life and music that stretched across Osbourne’s hometown.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
30 July 2025
Adjective
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These creatures can be very noisy, but there's a purpose.—
Marley Malenfant,
Austin American Statesman,
22 July 2025
-
There are also elements that people tend to notice only when things go wrong, like if a restaurant is too noisy.—
Sofia Perez,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
Adjective
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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
Cite this Entry
“Rumbustious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rumbustious. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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