Meanings
rorty1
comparative rortier · superlative rortiest · alternative raughty
- UKinformalBoisterous, rowdy, saucy, dissipated, or risqué.
But compared with the heavy, muffling darkness of the night in which the countryside was sunk, the lights looked positively rorty
1932, Stella Gibbons, Cold Comfort Farm2 more examples
"Tell us a good story, Rodney — one of your rorty ones." / Mr. Rodney shrivelled. / "I fear," he murmured — "I fear I am scarcely in the — er — rorty vein to-night."
1898, Robert Smythe Hichens, The Londoners, page 280Any speed any gear it doesn't matter. The 2Eleven's got an enormous powerband huge performance and the rortiest exhaust I've heard in an Elise-based car
2007 May 31, “Lotus 2-Eleven - Road Test First Drive”, in Autocar
Rorty2
- A surname
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
19th century UK. Unknown etymology. Farmer (1903) categorises the term as costermongers' slang.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with rorty
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
rorty. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rorty
“rorty.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rorty. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rorty,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rorty.
Source: rorty on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.