rowdy 1 of 2

adjective

ˈrau̇-dē How to pronounce rowdy (audio)
Definition of rowdynext
as in boisterous
being rough or noisy in a high-spirited way a rowdy but good-natured group of teenagers

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

rowdy

2 of 2

noun

as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang rowdies had overtaken the neighborhood and were threatening people on the street

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rowdy
Adjective
The normally festive and rowdy crowd inside the basketball arena in Dallas quickly hushed as a five-minute memorial video began playing. — ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026 Despite whatever news comes from the court system today, Lane Kiffin’s debut as LSU coach should be rowdy. — Chris Branch, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026 As Musashi scrambles through a school of Samurai, the game seamlessly bounces between skillful swordplay, rowdy improvisation, and Looney Tunes-style levity. — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 31 Aug. 2026 The family section in the lower bowl of Oracle Park has been plenty rowdy over the last 24 hours. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 30 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for rowdy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rowdy
  1. boisterous
  2. thug
  3. raucous
  4. criminal
  5. rambunctious
  6. tough
  7. noisy
  8. gangster
Adjective
  • Unlike regular golf tournaments, the first tee is boisterous with a flag-waving crowd and music.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The result is a boisterous, exhausting drama that struggles to balance trauma, satire and the painful legacy of Black sitcom fame.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of boisterous
Noun
  • The residents occasionally gather in a disused rec center but the meetings devolve into rants about immigrants, junkies, thugs and vigilantism.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 26 Sep. 2026
  • That a Christian man was responsible for the devastation in Oklahoma City certainly didn’t matter to the thugs who terrorized a Muslim woman there, nearly seven months pregnant, by attacking her home, breaking her windows, screaming religious slurs.
    — Reshma Memon Yaqub, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of thug
Adjective
  • Following the film screening, which earned a raucous applause from attendees (and a standing ovation for its lead actor), Scott encouraged the audience to dance their way out to a song by the late Ethel Merman.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The raucous sell-out crowds transform Chase Center into Ballhalla, which is littered with a sea of violet and creates a strong homecourt advantage for the club.
    — Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of raucous
Noun
  • The Financial Action Task Force, the global money-laundering watchdog, has warned that criminals exploit citizenship and residency programs to conceal their identities, launder illicit wealth and evade justice.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The real risk is that a criminal could forge your signature on a deed or trick you into signing paperwork that transfers ownership, then file that document with the local office that maintains property records.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of criminal
Adjective
  • Sunny, a rambunctious Portuguese water dog that President Barack Obama got at the start of his second term in the White House, died Tuesday at the age of 13, Obama announced.
    — Amy B Wang, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2026
  • When her beloved dog Krypto is poisoned, Kara teams with a vengeful teen (Eve Ridley) and a rambunctious bounty hunter (Jason Momoa) to hunt down the vicious outlaw responsible.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of rambunctious
Noun
  • And Susan Collins, as Democrats have seen time and time again, is a real tough out.
    — NBC news, NBC news, 21 June 2026
  • In that version, the character is played by Joe Don Baker, the great character actor known for playing toughs in films like Walking Tall (1973) and Fletch (1985).
    — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
Definition of tough
Adjective
  • Lucy refurbishes their noisy slab arrangements into massive walls of buzzing texture, like a cross between a fashionable rave and a final boss battle.
    — H.D. Angel, Pitchfork, 8 Oct. 2026
  • In a place where others might have heard a gunshot, or the noisy retreat of a car on three good tires.
    — Thomas Lake, AJC.com, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of noisy
Noun
  • But when a patient recognizes him from his dangerous past, Brown has eight hours to elude the government, mob hitmen, quack surgeons, and a trail of dead gangsters to somehow beat the reaper.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Somebody like Gilroy or Jeff Kober and Barry Corbin (popping up occasionally as a pair of geriatric gangsters) will come and go in situations knowingly designed to feel contrived.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of gangster

Browse Nearby Words

rowdiness
rowdy
rowdyish
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Cite this Entry

“Rowdy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rowdy. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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