raffish
/'ræfiʃ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness: Describes a person, style, or atmosphere that is unconventional, slightly disreputable, but often in a charming or attractive way.
- Marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners; stylish in a flashy or jaunty way: Describes a smart, confident, and slightly showy appearance or attitude.
Usage
The adjective "raffish" is used to describe a person's appearance, behavior, or style that is confidently unconventional, slightly bohemian, or charmingly disreputable. It often carries a positive connotation of charisma and nonconformity, rather than a purely negative sense of being disreputable.
Examples
- Describing a person or group:
- He had a raffish charm that appealed to her sense of adventure.
- The party was full of artists and raffish characters from the old quarter of the city.
- Describing style or appearance:
- He wore his hat at a raffish angle.
- Her raffish elegance stood out in the crowd of formally dressed guests.
Advanced Usage
- "raffish charm": A common collocation highlighting the attractive, charismatic quality of someone's unconventional behavior.
- The old sailor told stories with raffish charm.
- "raffish elegance": Describes a stylishness that is smart but deliberately informal or unconventional.
- The actor was known for his raffish elegance on and off the screen.
Variants and Related Words
- Raffishly (adverb): In a raffish manner.
- He grinned raffishly from under the brim of his hat.
- Raffishness (noun): The quality of being raffish.
- The bar's appeal lay in its air of cheerful raffishness.
Synonyms
- Jaunty: Having a lively, cheerful, and self-confident manner, often reflected in appearance.
- Dapper: Neat and trim in dress and appearance (implies smartness, which can overlap with the stylish sense of "raffish").
- Bohemian: Socially unconventional in an artistic way.
- Rakish: Dashingly or sportingly stylish; unconventional (very close in meaning, often used interchangeably).
Antonyms
- Conventional: Based on or in accordance with what is generally done or believed.
- Staid: Sedate, respectable, and unadventurous.
- Prim: Formally precise or proper, as persons or behavior.
Idioms and Phrases
While "raffish" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, it describes the quality evoked in phrases like: - "A devil-may-care attitude": A casual and reckless disregard for consequences, which can be synonymous with a raffish demeanor. - He drove the convertible with a raffish, devil-may-care attitude.
Adjective
- marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness
- a cocktail party given by some...raffish bachelors- Crary Moore
- marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
- a dapper young man
- a jaunty red hat