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View synonyms for raffish

raffish

[ raf-ish ]

adjective

  1. mildly or sometimes engagingly disreputable or nonconformist:

    a matinee idol whose raffish offstage behavior amused millions.

    Synonyms: scampish, picaresque, devilish, rascally, prankish, waggish, roguish

  2. gaudily vulgar or cheap; tawdry.

    Synonyms: inelegant, tasteless, loud, gaudy, garish, flamboyant, flashy, showy, tawdry, gimcrack, tinsel, cheap, tacky, vulgar, crass

    Antonyms: understated, reserved, quiet, plain, simple, high-class, classy, refined, elegant, tasteful



raffish

/ ˈræfɪʃ /

adjective

  1. careless or unconventional in dress, manners, etc; rakish
  2. tawdry; flashy; vulgar
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈraffishness, noun
  • ˈraffishly, adverb
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Other Words From

  • raffish·ly adverb
  • raffish·ness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of raffish1

First recorded in 1795–1805; raff + -ish 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of raffish1

C19: see raff
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Example Sentences

The accusations had little impact, however, on his public persona as a raffish celebrity who was a fixture in gossip columns, a personal brand crystallized by the name of his music label: Bad Boy.

Afterward, he started to communicate with living Redondan notables and to research the micro-nation’s various rival monarchs, including a raffish ship’s captain known as King Bob the Bald.

Now combined into a single storefront, the current retail space retains raffish details of its liquor-store days, including a retro red-and-blue neon sign and period gilt window lettering advertising cognacs and cordials.

But logic isn’t the point of a story populated by a cast of colorfully raffish hit men, ne’er-do-wells, a precocious chaos merchant and an ever-looming crime kingpin called the White Death.

Stevens begins his account with an introduction to his ancestors, all of whom were show people in the gloriously raffish tradition.

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