Meanings
comparative more riotously · superlative most riotously
- In a riotous manner.
The overpowering sense of somebody beyond reach who lived in a world riotously happening only in his own mind.
1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 1381 more example
But inside the aquarium, riotously colored saltwater fish, schools of silvery piranhas, and even one seemingly communicative manta ray allow visitors to dream of worlds beyond a war that has made the land where the oceanic sanctuary sits a battle zone.
2025 December 22, Howard LaFranchi, “Near Ukraine’s front line, aquarium offers refuge for kids and soldiers alike”, in The Christian Science Monitor - In a degenerate or dissolute manner.
1 more example
Greatly mystified, the curate turned to examine another picture, the cryptic title of which was, "The superintendent and the soubrette - our reporter puts a pornographic parson's pot on." In this the superintendent, distinguished by a clerical coat and a Methodistical brand of whisker, was delineated in the act of riotously drinking from a bottle labelled "champagne," having evidently accommodated the soubrette - a lady in extremely abbreviated skirts - with his only glass.
1913, Norman Lindsay, A Curate in Bohemia, Sydney: N.S.W. Bookstall Co., published 1932, page 129 - In a manner that causes or involves uncontrollable laughter.
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbin a tumultuous and riotous manner
adverbin an exuberant manner
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Cite this entry
riotously. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/riotously
“riotously.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/riotously. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “riotously,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/riotously.
Source: riotously on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.