Etymology
Origin of ruffianism
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.
As attacks on the rule of law become more frequent and intense, the public has rekindled its often dormant affection for public-interest lawyers — endearingly unglamorous defenders of principle over politics, of rules over ruffianism.
From New York Times ● Jan. 21, 2020
Its ruffianism has no social function; it satisfies itself.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 5, 2012
A scrubby beard covered his face to the cheekbones, giving him an air of ruffianism that went oddly with his large weak frame and nervous movements.
From "1984" by George Orwell
He was a fine compound of ruffianism, shrewdness, and a sort of caustic humour.
From Sinks of London Laid Open A Pocket Companion for the Uninitiated, to Which is Added a Modern Flash Dictionary Containing all the Cant Words, Slang Terms, and Flash Phrases Now in Vogue, with a List of the Sixty Orders of Prime Coves by George Cruikshank
Yet it may be that democracy, for self-preservation, will be compelled to invite women to the ballot-box, to restrain and overawe the ruffianism of man.
From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
