raffish

[raf-ish]

See more synonyms for raffish on Thesaurus.com

adjective

mildly or sometimes engagingly disreputable or nonconformist; rakish: a matinee idol whose raffish offstage behavior amused millions.
gaudily vulgar or cheap; tawdry.

Origin of raffish

First recorded in 1795–1805; raff + -ish¹

Related formsraff·ish·ly, adverbraff·ish·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for raffish

Contemporary Examples

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

Historical Examples

Raffish and flamboyant, he lounged forward to the window of the carriage.
A Daughter of Raasay
William MacLeod Raine
Raffish party too, spy and conspirator persuasion, that sort of thing.
Nevermore
Rolf Boldrewood
And oh the raffish counts and more than doubtful countesses, the noodles and the blacklegs, the good society!
The Life of Charles Dickens, Vol. I-III, Complete
John Forster
And there are screeching Cockney women, raw and raffish, brutalized children, and men who would survive in the fiercest jungle.
Nights in London
Thomas Burke
You see, he is himself pater familias, with no Bohemian trait or raffish turn.
John Leech, His Life and Work, Vol. II (of II)
William Powell Frith

British Dictionary definitions for raffish

raffish

adjective

careless or unconventional in dress, manners, etc; rakish
tawdry; flashy; vulgar

Derived Formsraffishly, adverbraffishness, noun

Word Origin

C19: see raff

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

Word Origin and History for raffish

adj.

"disreputable, vulgar," 1801 (first attested in Jane Austen), from raff "people," usually of a lower sort (1670s), probably from rif and raf (mid-14c.) "everyone," from Middle English raf, raffe "one and all, everybody" (see riffraff). Related: Raffishly; raffishness.

raffish

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}raffish

Examples from the Web for raffish

Contemporary Examples

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

Historical Examples

Raffish and flamboyant, he lounged forward to the window of the carriage.

Raffish party too, spy and conspirator persuasion, that sort of thing.

And oh the raffish counts and more than doubtful countesses, the noodles and the blacklegs, the good society!

And there are screeching Cockney women, raw and raffish, brutalized children, and men who would survive in the fiercest jungle.

You see, he is himself pater familias, with no Bohemian trait or raffish turn.

raffish

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for raffish

adj.

Origin of raffish