ruffler
Definition
Noun: - A swaggering or arrogant person: "ruffler" refers to someone who behaves in a boastful, proud, or aggressive manner, often seeking to intimidate or dominate others. - A quarrelsome person: It also denotes an individual who is prone to fighting or causing disputes, especially in a noisy or blustering way.
Usage Examples
- (An arrogant person swaggering aggressively.)
- (A quarrelsome person who enjoys conflict.)
Advanced Usage
- Historical context: In Elizabethan England, a "ruffler" was a type of vagrant or beggar who pretended to be a discharged soldier or sailor, using this disguise to swagger and demand money or goods by intimidation.
- The constable arrested the ruffler for disturbing the peace with his loud threats. (A historical reference to a fraudulent beggar.)
Variants and Related Words
- Ruffle (verb): to disturb the smoothness or order of something; to annoy or upset.
- The wind ruffled her hair. (Disturbed its smoothness.)
- Ruffled (adj): having a frilled edge; or, disturbed or agitated.
- She wore a ruffled blouse. (With frills.)
- Ruffling (n): the act of disturbing or causing disorder.
Synonyms
- Swaggerer: a person who walks or behaves in a very confident, arrogant way.
- Braggart: someone who boasts excessively.
- Bully: a person who uses strength or influence to harm or intimidate others.
- Blusterer: a person who talks in a loud, aggressive, or indignant way with little effect.
Related Idioms
- To ruffle feathers: to annoy or upset someone.
- His rude comments really ruffled feathers at the meeting. (Caused annoyance.)
- To ruffle someone's composure: to disturb someone's calm or self-control.
- The unexpected question ruffled her composure. (Made her lose her calm.)
Phrasal Verbs
- Ruffle up: to make something rough or uneven; to cause someone to become agitated.
- The cat ruffled up its fur when it saw the dog. (Made its fur stand up.)