roguish
Americanadjective
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playfully mischievous.
a roguish smile.
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pertaining to, characteristic of, or acting like a rogue; knavish or unscrupulous.
adjective
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dishonest or unprincipled
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mischievous or arch
Other Word Forms
- roguishly adverb
- roguishness noun
Etymology
Origin of roguish
Explanation
To be roguish is to be up to no good, which could mean being untrustworthy like a criminal or playful and mischievous. If someone gives you a roguish smile, he’s totally flirting with you. You can't trust someone who acts roguish in the bad way, like the roguish crook who picks your pocket while telling you how lovely you look. On the other hand, you might like someone who acts roguish in the second sense, which means playfully mischievous. Being roguish in this way might mean playing pranks, telling racy jokes, and being a little wild. Roguish behavior like this can still be annoying, like if your roguish roommate at camp short-sheets your bed.
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.
Dressed in a brown leather jacket, crisply pressed blue jeans and a cream-colored cowboy hat, he sticks out his hand and says, “I’m Charley with an –ey,” then flashes a roguish grin.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2025
In “The Crown,” he played a roguish friend of Prince Philip; he was the unreliable father of Dr. Jean Milburn’s baby on “Sex Education” and the resentful husband on Lucy Prebble’s “I Hate Suzie.”
From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2024
Starring alongside her is Ed Skrein, who plays the main villain Admiral Atticus Noble, and Charlie Hunnam who plays Kai, a roguish pilot and smuggler.
From BBC • Dec. 12, 2023
“He has boyish charm and likeability, that impish, roguish element to him,” Seymour said.
From Washington Times • May 31, 2023
She smiled, a perfect, roguish, Lucy Ricardo smile.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
