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definitions

raucous

[raw-kuhs]
adjective
  1. harsh; strident; grating: raucous voices; raucous laughter.
  2. rowdy; disorderly: a raucous party.

Origin of raucous

1760–70; < Latin raucus hoarse, harsh, rough; see -ous
Related formsrau·cous·ly, adverbrau·cous·ness, rau·ci·ty [raw-si-tee] /ˈrɔ sɪ ti/, noun

Synonyms for raucous

1. rough, jarring, raspy.

Antonyms for raucous

1. soft, mellow, dulcet.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for raucously

Historical Examples of raucously

  • He tooted it raucously, and then continued: "They say some of 'em can go like the wind."

  • The boisterousness was raucously profane—the general atmosphere was that of an unclean rookery.

    When 'Bear Cat' Went Dry

    Charles Neville Buck

  • She was chatting vivaciously with Jimmy and Jimmy had been laughing as raucously as a jackal—and so they had passed him by.

    The Tyranny of Weakness

    Charles Neville Buck

  • The noise broke in raucously upon that horrid gurgling sound without.

    The Man with the Clubfoot

    Valentine Williams

  • Suddenly the men-crowded landing set up its cheer, and the steamers all whistled long and raucously.

    Wounds in the rain

    Stephen Crane

British Dictionary definitions for raucously

raucous

adjective
  1. (of voices, cries, etc) harshly or hoarsely loud
Derived Formsraucously, adverbraucousness or rare raucity (ˈrɔːsɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for raucous

C18: from Latin raucus hoarse
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 raucously

raucous

adj.

1769, from Latin raucus "hoarse" (also source of French rauque, Spanish ronco, Italian rauco), related to ravus "hoarse," from PIE echoic base *reu- "make hoarse cries" (cf. Sanskrit rayati "barks," ravati "roars;" Greek oryesthai "to howl, roar;" Latin racco "a roar;" Old Church Slavonic rjevo "I roar;" Lithuanian rekti "roar;" Old English rarian "to wail, bellow"). Middle English had rauc in the same sense, from the same source.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper