Word.ws English Dictionary

ruffler

UK/ˈɹʌflə/US/ˈɹʌflɚ/

ruffler noun: a ruffian, bully, or villain, especially a 16th-17th-century vagabond operating under the guise of a maimed soldier or sailor.

Noun

ruffler (plural rufflers)

  1. (historical) A ruffian, bully, or villain, especially a 16th-17th-century vagabond operating under the guise of a maimed soldier or sailor.
    • […] and then how he grasped his club and longed to do battle with a dozen rufflers, for the love of Mistress Alice!1840-1841, Charles Dickens, Master Humphrey's Clock
    • The ruffler in leather, who lately went fighting through the door, has returned, presumably by means of another entrance.1978, Michael Moorcock, chapter 1, in Gloriana; or, The Unfulfill'd Queen
  2. A sewing machine attachment for making ruffles.

Forms of ruffler

pluralrufflers

Origin of ruffler

From ruffle + -er.

Words that rhyme with ruffler

Questions about ruffler

What does ruffler mean?
Ruffler means a ruffian, bully, or villain, especially a 16th-17th-century vagabond operating under the guise of a maimed soldier or sailor.
What part of speech is ruffler?
Ruffler is a noun.
How do you pronounce ruffler?
Ruffler is pronounced /ˈɹʌflə/ (UK).
What is the plural of ruffler?
The plural of ruffler is rufflers.

Words near ruffler in the dictionary

  1. ruffled someone's feathers
  2. ruffled up
  3. ruffleless
  4. rufflement
  5. rufflements
  6. ruffler
  7. rufflers
  8. ruffles
  9. ruffles a few feathers
  10. ruffles any feathers
  11. ruffles feathers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ruffler (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.

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