ruffler

R1U1F4F4L1E1R1
UK/ˈɹʌflə/US/ˈɹʌflɚ/

noun

A ruffian, bully, or villain, especially a 16th-17th-century vagabond operating under the guise of a maimed soldier or sailor.

Scrabble 13

Meanings

nounruffler (plural rufflers)

plural rufflers

  1. historicalA ruffian, bully, or villain, especially a 16th-17th-century vagabond operating under the guise of a maimed soldier or sailor.

    1840-1841, Charles Dickens, Master Humphrey's Clock […] and then how he grasped his club and longed to do battle with a dozen rufflers, for the love of Mistress Alice!

    1 more example

    The ruffler in leather, who lately went fighting through the door, has returned, presumably by means of another entrance.

    1978, Michael Moorcock, chapter 1, in Gloriana; or, The Unfulfill'd Queen
  2. A sewing machine attachment for making ruffles.

Origin

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with ruffler

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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