rakish

[rey-kish]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rakish ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

like a rake; dissolute: rakish behavior.

Origin of rakish

First recorded in 1700–10; rake² + -ish¹

Related formsrak·ish·ly, adverbrak·ish·ness, noun

rakish

[rey-kish]

adjective

smart; jaunty; dashing: a hat worn at a rakish angle.

(of a vessel) having an appearance suggesting speed.

Origin of rakish

First recorded in 1815–25; rake³ + -ish¹

Synonyms for rakish

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rakish ON THESAURUS.COM

1. sporting, dapper, debonair, breezy.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for rakish

saucy, sporty, raffish, dashing, jaunty, profligate, abandoned, chic, debauched, depraved, devil-may-care, dissipated, dissolute, fashionable, fast, flashy, gay, lecherous, licentious, loose

Examples from the Web for rakish

Contemporary Examples of rakish

Last of Robin Hood also centers on a young woman who falls for a rakish older movie star.
Susan Sarandon on Her Love Affair With David Bowie, Woody Allen’s Creepiness, and Psychedelics
Marlow Stern
July 24, 2014
The prince was rakish and clever and yes, even charming at times.
How the Sultan of Brunei Violated His Sharia Law With Me
Jillian Lauren
May 6, 2014
Sometimes his leather jackets were sporty and rakish, at others they were sculpted into prim, hourglass shapes.
Paris Fashion Week Frenzy: Let’s Focus on Clothes
Robin Givhan
March 9, 2011

Historical Examples of rakish

He bowed, rakish and smiling, with all the airs of a dancing master.
The Pirate of Panama
William MacLeod Raine
He was leaning back in a morris chair, rakish, debonair, and at his ease.
Brand Blotters
William MacLeod Raine
I do not know what a rakish craft is; but this was very rakish and very crafty.
The World I Live In
Helen Keller
The Imp was narrow and rakish, with a low cockpit and a high bow and stern.
Canoe Boys and Campfires
William Murray Graydon
After which them two old cut-ups wink at each other rakish and slap their knees.
The House of Torchy
Sewell Ford

British Dictionary definitions for rakish

rakish

adjective

dissolute; profligate

Derived Formsrakishly, adverbrakishness, noun

Word Origin for rakish

C18: from rake ² + -ish

rakish

adjective

dashing; jauntya hat set at a rakish angle

nautical (of a ship or boat) having lines suggestive of speed

Word Origin for rakish

C19: probably from rake ³ (sense 1), with reference to the sloping masts of pirate ships

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 rakish

adj.

1706, "debauched, disreputable," from rake (n.2) + -ish. Related: Rakishly; rakishness.

The meaning "smart, jaunty, dashing" (1824) is said to be a different word, probably from rake "slant, slope" (1620s), used especially in reference to a ship's hull or sails, of uncertain origin, perhaps from Scandinavian (cf. Old Swedish raka "project, reach;" Danish rage "protrude, project") related to Old English reccan "stretch." "The piratical craft of former times were distinguished for their rakish build" [Century Dictionary].