rambunctious
adjective
Did you know?
Rambunctious first appeared in print in the early half of the 19th century, at a time when the fast-growing United States was forging its identity and indulging in a fashion for colorful new coinages suggestive of the young nation's optimism and exuberance. Rip-roaring, scalawag, scrumptious, hornswoggle, and skedaddle are other examples of the lively language of that era. Did Americans alter the largely British rumbustious because it sounded, well, British? That could be. Rumbustious, which first appeared in Britain in the late 1700s just after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was probably based on robustious, a much older adjective meaning both "robust" and "boisterous."
Synonyms of rambunctious
Examples of rambunctious in a Sentence
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
Cowritten with veteran author Lin Oliver, Hawn's book follows three outlier elementary school students who strike up a friendship and decide to find a home for a rambunctious shelter dog.
—Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 28 Apr. 2026
Flyers fans stomped on the animal and nearly destroyed it before security scurried the souvenir away from the rambunctious crowd.
—CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
In contrast to the Sussex children’s rambunctious backyard egg hunt, the children of Prince William and Princess Catherine spent part of their Easter having to parade to church in front of dozens of cameras, looking buttoned-up in formal suits and coats.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rambunctious
Cite this Entry
“Rambunctious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rambunctious. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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rambunctious
adjective
