raffish
/ˈɹæfɪʃ/adjective
raffish is spelled R-A-F-F-I-S-H: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 161,690th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, raffish means “Characterized by careless unconventionality; rakish” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in raffish?
| Letters | 7: R-A-F-F-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 28 million words; the 161,690th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is raffish?
Raffish appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 161,690th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce raffish?
- /ˈɹæfɪʃ/
Raffish has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-raffish.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of raffish
- more raffish comparative
- most raffish superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does raffish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Characterized by careless unconventionality; rakish.
- 2
Low-class; disreputable; vulgar.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Raffish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense characterized by careless unconventionality – see also rakish:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | verwegen |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does raffish come from?
From late 18th century raff (“persons among the lowest class in society”) + -ish, still retained in contemporary English with riffraff. From Old French raffer (“to wear away”), of Germanic origin. Compare German raffen. Compare rip (“to tear”), rap (“to snatch”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).