Ruffian Definition

rŭfē-ən, rŭfyən
ruffians
noun
ruffians
A brutal, violent, lawless person; tough or hoodlum.
Webster's New World
A thug or gangster.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
adjective
Brutal, violent, and lawless.
Webster's New World
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
Wiktionary
verb
To play the ruffian; to rage; to raise tumult.
Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Ruffian

Noun

Singular:
ruffian
Plural:
ruffians

Origin of Ruffian

  • French pimp from Old French rufien from Old Provençal rufian from Old Italian ruffiano

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • French rufien, Old French ruffen, ruffian (“pimp. libertine, rake").

    From Wiktionary

Ruffian Sentence Examples

  • He was not a ruffian or a tyrant like his father, and had indeed not a few of the domestic virtues.

  • From his eye, he saw a third ruffian hurtle backward into the bushes.

  • They were subduing, for want of a better word, some dangerous ruffian.

  • In 1541 he lost two infant sons, and the mysterious affair of the death of that aesthetic ruffian, Sir James Hamilton of Finnart, was supposed to lie heavy on his mind.

  • Macpherson is said to have sent Johnson a challenge, to which Johnson replied that he was not to be deterred from detecting what he thought a cheat by the menaces of a ruffian.

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Words Starting With

RRURUF

Words Ending With

NANIAN

Unscrambles

ruffian

Words Starting With R and Ending With N

Starts With R & Ends With NStarts With RU & Ends With NStarts With R & Ends With AN

Word Length

7 Letter Words7 Letter Words Starting With R7 Letter Words Ending With N