ROWDY (rowdier, rowdiest)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: rowdier    , rowdiest   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does rowdy mean? 

• ROWDY (noun)
  The noun ROWDY has 1 sense:

1. a cruel and brutal fellow

  Familiarity information: ROWDY used as a noun is very rare.

• ROWDY (adjective)
  The adjective ROWDY has 1 sense:

1. disturbing the public peace; loud and rough

  Familiarity information: ROWDY used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ROWDY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A cruel and brutal fellow

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

bully; hooligan; roughneck; rowdy; ruffian; tough; yob; yobbo; yobo

Hypernyms ("rowdy" is a kind of...):

aggressor; assailant; assaulter; attacker (someone who attacks)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rowdy"):

bullyboy (a swaggering tough; usually one acting as an agent of a political faction)

muscle; muscleman (a bully employed as a thug or bodyguard)

skin; skinhead (a member of any of several British or American groups consisting predominantly of young people who shave their heads; some engage in white supremacist and anti-immigrant activities and this leads to the perception that all skinheads are racist and violent)

plug-ugly; tough guy (someone who bullies weaker people)

• ROWDY (adjective)

Comparative: rowdier   
Superlative: rowdiest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Disturbing the public peace; loud and rough

Synonyms:

raucous; rowdy

Context example:

rowdy teenagers

Similar:

disorderly (undisciplined and unruly)

Derivation:

rowdiness (rowdy behavior)

 Context examples 

We were sitting at a table with a man of about my age and a rowdy little girl who gave way upon the slightest provocation to uncontrollable laughter.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)