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Showing results for ruffian. Search instead for riffian.
Synonyms

ruffian

American  
[ruhf-ee-uhn, ruhf-yuhn] / ˈrʌf i ən, ˈrʌf yən /

noun

  1. a tough, lawless person; roughneck; bully.

    Synonyms:
    blackguard, rogue, knave, tough, brute

adjective

  1. Also ruffianly. tough; lawless; brutal.

ruffian British  
/ ˈrʌfɪən /

noun

  1. a violent or lawless person; hoodlum or villain

"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

  • ruffianism noun
  • ruffianly adjective

Etymology

Origin of ruffian

1525–35; < Middle French < Italian ruffiano, perhaps < Langobardic *hruf scurf + Italian -ano -an

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.