Word.ws English Dictionary

ruffle

/ˈɹʌfəl/

ruffle noun: any gathered or curled strip of fabric added as trim or decoration.

Noun

ruffle (plural ruffles)

  1. Any gathered or curled strip of fabric added as trim or decoration.
    • She loved the dress with the lace ruffle at the hem.
    • His dress was splendid; his hands glittered with rings, his snuff-box was covered with diamonds, and his ruffles were of the finest Mechlin lace.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “A Matrimonial Tête-à-Tête”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 169
    Synonyms:
    frill, furbelow
  2. Disturbance; agitation; commotion.
    • to put the mind in a ruffle
  3. A low, vibrating beat of a drum, quieter than a roll; a ruff.
  4. The connected series of large egg capsules, or oothecae, of several species of American marine gastropods of the genus Fulgur.

Verb

ruffle (third-person singular simple present ruffles, present participle ruffling, simple past and past participle ruffled)

  1. (transitive) To make a ruffle in; to curl or flute, as an edge of fabric.
    • Ruffle the end of the cuff.
  2. (transitive) To disturb; especially, to cause to flutter.
    • The wind ruffled the papers.
    • Her sudden volley of insults ruffled his composure.
  3. (intransitive) To grow rough, boisterous, or turbulent.
    • The night comes on, and the bleak winds / Do sorely ruffle.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  4. (intransitive) To become disordered; to play loosely; to flutter.
    • On his right shoulder his thick mane ', / Ruffles at speed, and dances in the wind.1697, Virgil, “The Third Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
  5. (intransitive) To be rough; to jar; to be in contention; hence, to put on airs; to swagger.
    • They would ruffle with jurors.1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret...
    • gallants who ruffled in silk and embroidery1822, [Walter Scott], Peveril of the Peak. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC
  6. To make into a ruff; to draw or contract into puckers, plaits, or folds; to wrinkle.
  7. To erect in a ruff, as feathers.
    • [T]he barge with oar and sail / Moved from the brink, like some full-breasted swan / That, fluting a wild carol ere her death, / Ruffles her pure cold plume, and takes the flood / With swarthy webs.1842, Alfred Tennyson, “Morte d’Arthur”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 16
  8. To beat with the ruff or ruffle, as a drum.
  9. To throw together in a disorderly manner.
    • Within a thicket I reposed; when round / I ruffled up fall'n leaves in heap; and found, / Let fall from heaven, a sleep interminate.1614–1615, Homer, “The Seventh Book of Homer’s Odysseys”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615...

ruffle meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada

ruffle in Tamil

சுருக்கு

ruffle in Urdu

شکن, اکڑ دکھانا, کش مکش کرنا, نخرہ کرنا, بل ڈالنا, گڑبڑ کرنا

ruffle in Malayalam

disarrange, tousle, dishevel
അലങ്കോലപ്പെടുത്തുക, താറുമാറാക്കുക, അടുക്കും മുറയും തെറ്റിക്കുക, ക്രമഭംഗം വരുത്തുക, ഉലച്ചിടുക, ചിക്കിച്ചിതറുക
ripple, riffle
ഓളമുണ്ടാക്കുക, തിരയിളക്കമുണ്ടാക്കുക, ഓളമടിക്കുക, അലതല്ലുക, തരംഗമുണ്ടാകുക
annoy, irritate, vex
അലട്ടുക, അലോസരപ്പെടുത്തുക, സംക്ഷോഭിപ്പിക്കുക, ശല്യപ്പെടുത്തുക, അരിശം പിടിപ്പിക്കുക, പീഡിപ്പിക്കുക
frill, flounce, ruff
ചുളി, ഞൊറി, ഞൊറിയൽ, ഞൊറിവച്ചലങ്കരിക്കൽ, ചിത്രവേല, പൊടിപ്പ്

ruffle in Kannada

ತಲ್ಲಣ, ಕಳವಳ, ನಲುಗು, ತಲ್ಲಣಗೊಳಿಸು, ಕಾಡು, ಚೆದರಿಸು

Examples of ruffle in a sentence

  • the fantastic revelries […] that so often ruffled the placid bosom of the Nile1832, [Isaac Taylor], Saturday Evening. […], London: Holdsworth and Ball, →OCLC:
  • But, ever after, the small violence done / Rankled in him and ruffled all his heart, / As the sharp wind that ruffles all day long / A little bitter pool about a stone / On the bare coast.1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Guinevere”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, pages 227–228:
  • These ruffle the tranquillity of the mind.1860, Sir William Hamilton, Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet:
  • "Please, I beg you, do not ruffle yourselves!1972, Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Knopf, page 114:

All 28 example sentences with ruffle

Synonyms of ruffle

10 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of ruffle

Forms of ruffle

Noun
pluralruffles
Verb
third-person singular presentruffles
present participleruffling
past participleruffled
pastruffled

Past tense of ruffle: ruffled

Plural of ruffle: ruffles

Origin of ruffle

From Middle English ruffelen, perhaps from Old Norse hrufla (“to graze, scratch”) or Middle Low German ruffelen (“to wrinkle, curl”). Further origin unknown. Related to Middle Dutch ruyffelen, German Low German ruffeln. See English ruff.

Words formed from ruffle

Words that rhyme with ruffle

1 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about ruffle

What does ruffle mean?
Ruffle means any gathered or curled strip of fabric added as trim or decoration.
What is ruffle in Tamil?
Ruffle in Tamil is சுருக்கு. See Ruffle meaning in Tamil.
How do you use ruffle in a sentence?
the fantastic revelries […] that so often ruffled the placid bosom of the Nile
What part of speech is ruffle?
Ruffle can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce ruffle?
Ruffle is pronounced /ˈɹʌfəl/.
What is the plural of ruffle?
The plural of ruffle is ruffles.

Words near ruffle in the dictionary

  1. Ruffini's corpuscle
  2. Ruffini's corpuscles
  3. Ruffino
  4. Ruffinos
  5. ruffins
  6. ruffle
  7. ruffle a few feathers
  8. ruffle any feathers
  9. ruffle feathers
  10. ruffle some feathers
  11. ruffle someone's feathers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ruffle (page history and authors); ruffle (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ruffle (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ruffle (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); ruffle (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-ruffle.ogg.

Cite this entry: “ruffle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ruffle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.