border ruffian

American  

[bawr-der ruhf-ee-uhn] / ˈbɔr dər ˈrʌf i ən /

noun

border ruffians plural

1. U.S. History. Often, Border Ruffian. any of a group of criminal proslavery activists of Missouri who crossed into Kansas in order to intimidate, attack, rob, and sometimes murder opponents of slavery and to vote fraudulently in elections in an effort to defeat antislavery settlers there.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• border ruffians
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

border ruffian

The rugged hunter looked at the big malformed border ruffian with repulsion.

From Man Size by Raine, William MacLeod

Now, Borax O'Rourke, while a low, vulgar, border ruffian, had what even the lowest of his kind generally appear to possess: a lingering sense of respect for a good woman.

From The Long Chance by Kyne, Peter B. (Peter Bernard)

The clergyman was only a stripling beside this seasoned border ruffian.

From Analyzing Character by Blackford, Katherine M. H.

The main features of Buchanan's administration to hasten the "irrepressible conflict" were the well-weighed words of the Chief Justice and the wild invasion of a border ruffian.

From Robert Toombs Statesman, Speaker, Soldier, Sage by Stovall, Pleasant A.

I am from Kansas—that's true; and was a soldier and a scout in the Union army," said I; "and I was in Kansas during the border ruffian war of 1856.

From The Life of Hon. William F. Cody Known as Buffalo Bill the Famous Hunter, Scout and Guide by Buffalo Bill