raucous

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UK/ˈɹɔːkəs/US/ˈɹɔkəs/cot caught merger/ˈɹɑkəs/

adjective

Harsh and rough-sounding.

“At night, raucous ruckus took place in the swamp.”

Meanings

adjectiveraucous (comparative more raucous, superlative most raucous)

comparative more raucous · superlative most raucous

  1. Harsh and rough-sounding.

    At night, raucous ruckus took place in the swamp.

  2. Disorderly and boisterous.

    Acts of vandalism were committed by a raucous gang of drunkards.

    1 more example

    In a raucous atmosphere, it was an unforgiving and physical contest from the start. Grant Hanley conceded the first free-kick within the opening 20 seconds, setting the tone for a busy and thankless evening for Serbian referee Milorad Mazic.

    2014 November 14, Stephen Halliday, “Scotland 1-0 Republic of Ireland: Maloney the hero”, in The Scotsman

    Synonyms: rowdy

  3. Loud and annoying.

    The new neighbors had a raucous ruction in the small hours last night.

    1 more example

    There are also a lot of people who have never dreamed of being disagreeable in public, much less considered joining a raucous social movement.

    2026 June 12, Tressie McMillan Cottom, “This Could Be the Winning Issue for Democrats”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveDisorderly and boisterous.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveunpleasantly loud and harsh

adjectivedisturbing the public peace; loud and rough

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinrāvis
  2. Latinraucus
  3. Englishraucous

Borrowed from Latin raucus (“hoarse, husky, raucous”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian дрезгав, хриплив
  • дрезгав (drezgav)harsh and rough-sounding
  • хриплив (hripliv)harsh and rough-sounding
Dutch luidruchtig, lawaaierig
  • luidruchtigharsh and rough-sounding
  • lawaaierigharsh and rough-sounding
  • uitgelatendisorderly and boisterous
  • wanordelijkdisorderly and boisterous
French rauque, chahuteur
  • rauqueharsh and rough-sounding
  • chahuteurdisorderly and boisterous
  • tapageurdisorderly and boisterous
German rau, krakeelig
  • rauharsh and rough-sounding
  • krakeeligdisorderly and boisterous
  • lärmenddisorderly and boisterous
Irish callánach
  • callánachharsh and rough-sounding
Italian roco, rauco
  • rocoharsh and rough-sounding
  • raucoharsh and rough-sounding
  • chiassosodisorderly and boisterous
  • rumorosodisorderly and boisterous
Latin raucus
  • raucusharsh and rough-sounding
Māori rengarenga, tīhoihoi
  • rengarengaharsh and rough-sounding
  • tīhoihoiharsh and rough-sounding
  • pākinakinaharsh and rough-sounding
  • tīhoihoidisorderly and boisterous
Polish ochrypły, hałaśliwy
  • ochrypłyharsh and rough-sounding
  • hałaśliwydisorderly and boisterous
Russian хри́плый, бу́йный
  • хри́плый (xríplyj)harsh and rough-sounding
  • бу́йный (bújnyj)disorderly and boisterous
  • шумли́вый (šumlívyj)disorderly and boisterous
Turkish boğuk, nahoş
  • boğukharsh and rough-sounding
  • nahoşharsh and rough-sounding
  • gürültülüdisorderly and boisterous
  • velvelelidisorderly and boisterous

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with raucous

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

raucous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raucous

MLA

“raucous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raucous. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “raucous,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raucous.

Source: raucous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.