adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of raucous
1760–70; < Latin raucus hoarse, harsh, rough; see -ous
Compare meaning
How does raucous compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Raucous means unpleasantly loud, or behaving in a noisy and disorderly way. It can be hard to give an oral report in the front of a classroom when the kids in the back are being raucous. Raucous is often used to refer to loud laughter, loud voices, or a loud party, all of which can be harsh or unpleasant. Near synonyms are strident and rowdy. This adjective is from Latin raucus "hoarse." Think of raucous as people whose hoarseness can't come on too soon.
Vocabulary lists containing raucous
A Raisin in the Sun
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The Book Thief
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Restart
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Trying to impress the announced crowd of 75,500, which was as raucous as Riley remembered hearing in his four-plus seasons in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
Despite raucous home support, Shelton ran into Alexander Zverev of Germany, who surgically picked apart his game to win the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Some argue these occasions are the essence of the US Open - and a raucous sporting representation of the city which never sleeps.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
He tested his nursery rhyme remixes at a festival for adults in Hong Kong, dropping “If You’re Happy and You Know It” into standard sets to surprisingly raucous response.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
My reverie was punctured by a raucous cackling and complaining from a tiny house floating past us.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
