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ronin

American  
[roh-nin] / ˈroʊ nɪn /
Or rōnin

noun

Japanese History.
ronins plural
  1. a samurai who no longer serves a daimyo, or feudal lord.


ronin British  
/ ˈrəʊnɪn /

noun

  1. a lordless samurai, esp one whose feudal lord had been deprived of his territory

  2. such samurai collectively

"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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

Etymology

Origin of ronin

From the Japanese word rōnin literally, “wave man” (understood as “a man tossed around like a wave”)

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.

Like Japanese ronin, Howard’s warrior protagonists possess both iron self-control and an innate fatalism.

From Washington Post • Jun. 9, 2021

Thomas created the series while living and working in Japan, an experience that one guesses informs the way Nick Jones Jr. writes this ronin and certainly permeates Stanfield's portrayal.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2021

Here’s the basic synopsis from Netflix: In a war-torn feudal Japan filled with mechs and magic, the greatest ronin never known, Yasuke, struggles to maintain a peaceful existence after a past life of violence.

From The Verge • Apr. 1, 2021

It seems unlikely that Christie will be content to continue wandering the earth like a masterless samurai, a ronin.

From New York Times • Jan. 28, 2019

But from the story of her after-life it would seem that the face of the handsome ronin who had perished through his passion for her became a haunting memory.

From Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan First Series by Hearn, Lafcadio

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