rakehell
Americannoun
adjective
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of rakehell
1540–50; alteration by folk etymology ( rake 1, hell ) of Middle English rakel (adj.) rash, rough, coarse, hasty (akin to rake 4 ); compare Old Norse reikall wandering, unsettled
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.
Breakfast with Pauling Agre claims he was a "rakehell" as an adolescent who enjoyed an idyllic childhood in a small town in Minnesota.
From Scientific American • Jun. 28, 2011
The same woman, Frances Braham, had married both the rakehell Waldegraves.
From The Guardian • Sep. 23, 2010
It deals with an exclusive Oxford undergraduate dining club, the Riot, named after an 18th century rakehell.
From The Guardian • Apr. 16, 2010
A swaggering, rakehell organization with such heavy-hitting outfielders as Paschal, Meusel, Ruth, Combs, they led their league on July 4th, and the team that leads on that day, say the wiseacres, will win the pennant.
From Time Magazine Archive
What else was the stinking rakehell seeking but to put himself right again in the eyes of a town that was nauseated with him and his excesses?
From The Lion's Skin by Sabatini, Rafael
Definitions 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.
