raffish

American  

[raf-ish] / ˈræf ɪʃ /

adjective

1. mildly or sometimes engagingly disreputable or nonconformist.

   a matinee idol whose raffish offstage behavior amused millions.

   Synonyms:

   picaresque, devilish, scampish, rascally, prankish, waggish, roguish

2. gaudily vulgar or cheap; tawdry.

   Synonyms:

   inelegant, tasteless, loud, gaudy, garish, flamboyant, flashy, showy, tawdry, gimcrack, tinsel, cheap, tacky, vulgar, crass

   Antonyms:

   understated, reserved, quiet, plain, simple, high-class, classy, refined, elegant, tasteful

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raffish British  

/ ˈræfɪʃ /

adjective

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

2. tawdry; flashy; vulgar

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Other Word Forms

• raffishly adverb
• raffishness noun

Etymology

Origin of raffish

First recorded in 1795–1805; raff + -ish ¹

Explanation

Someone raffish is a bit of a scoundrel, carelessly making mischief. Your raffish classmate might constantly play mean practical jokes, always denying responsibility with a charming smile. If you're raffish, you're a "rake" or a "cad." Though you're pretty much bad news, you pull off your dastardly deeds in an attractive manner. Someone with a raffish look is intriguing as well as disreputable. Raffish comes from riff-raff, "generally undesirable people," from the Medieval French rifle et rafle, "stealing from the bodies of the dead on the battlefield."

Example Sentences

Smoking in a raffish suit like a film noir baddie with a shock of red hair ready to torch the world, Noble’s Richard employs a dusky, ironic voice to flaying effect.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026

In 2011, she was stunned to learn that her raffish little cafe had been awarded a Michelin star.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025

Now combined into a single storefront, the current retail space retains raffish details of its liquor-store days, including a retro red-and-blue neon sign and period gilt window lettering advertising cognacs and cordials.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 28, 2022

But logic isn’t the point of a story populated by a cast of colorfully raffish hit men, ne’er-do-wells, a precocious chaos merchant and an ever-looming crime kingpin called the White Death.

From Washington Post • Aug. 2, 2022

In the village street St. Toirdealbhach was waiting to receive the convoy, a raffish Silenus supported by four small boys.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• bohemian
• disreputable
• jaunty
• rakish