raffish

[ raf-ish ]
See synonyms for raffish on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. mildly or sometimes engagingly disreputable or nonconformist: a matinee idol whose raffish offstage behavior amused millions.

  2. gaudily vulgar or cheap; tawdry.

Origin of raffish

1
First recorded in 1795–1805; see origin at raff + -ish1

Other words for raffish

Opposites for raffish

Other words from raffish

  • raff·ish·ly, adverb
  • raff·ish·ness, noun

Words Nearby raffish

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use raffish in a sentence

  • Visiting him in his room at the raffish Chelsea Hotel, I noticed that there was a crumpled cigarette package under the bed.

    A Writer's Secret Life | Susan Cheever | October 8, 2008 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • If they could do that, need they ever have shot that raffish old lord—I beg pardon, my dear—your highly respected grandfather?

    Erema | R. D. Blackmore
  • Although the raffish peer denied all complicity, he did not come out of the business too well.

    The Magnificent Montez | Horace Wyndham
  • I was getting as bad as Renner—looking lecherously at the raffish display of shapely leg as the blond bombshell beat it.

    Modus Vivendi | Gordon Randall Garrett
  • But the muslin curtains, tied back with raffish pink bows, had really worried her most of all.

    Carnival | Compton Mackenzie
  • raffish party too, spy and conspirator persuasion, that sort of thing.

    Nevermore | Rolf Boldrewood

British Dictionary definitions for raffish

raffish

/ (ˈræfɪʃ) /


adjective
  1. careless or unconventional in dress, manners, etc; rakish

  2. tawdry; flashy; vulgar

Origin of raffish

1
C19: see raff

Derived forms of raffish

  • raffishly, adverb
  • raffishness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012