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boisterous

UK/ˈbɔɪstəɹəs/US/ˈbɔɪstəɹəs/
adjectiveC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,437 of 15,258neutral

Boisterous means noisy, rough and full of energy. A boisterous crowd, boisterous children, boisterous laughter.

It is cheerful rather than threatening — boisterous behaviour is exhausting and not dangerous, which is why it is used of children and of parties. Of weather and sea it means rough. Note that the origin is uncertain, from a Middle English word meaning crude or unrefined.

Definitions of boisterous

  1. 1adjectiveboisterousNoisy, rough and full of energy.C1

    “The boisterous boys chased each other around the garden, shouting and laughing.”

    synonyms: rowdy, rambunctious

boisterous is a quality of noisy energy.

Where it comes from

Middle English boistres alters boistous, meaning crude or rough. Its ultimate origin is unknown.

  1. Middle English

    boistres

  2. English, today

    boisterous

Built from

  • bustous · Anglo-Norman — rough, in a crude state, disabled, paralysed, unable to walk, lame

From Middle English boistres, an alteration of Middle English boistous (“crude, unrefined”), of unknown origin. Likely from Anglo-Norman boystous, bustous (“rough, in a crude state, disabled, paralysed, unable to walk, lame”), Old French boitous (“limping; having a rough, uneven surface”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Sharper Adjectives, Pets & Pet Care

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boisterous in the wild

  • In his varied career that spanned parts of six decades, he was a catcher, scout, major league umpire, minor and major league manager, and a boisterous baseball executive.

    Pants Rowland

  • The Kitchen lancers was a more boisterous version of the dance that was popular in the early 20th century.

    Les Lanciers

  • The trumpeter is portrayed as a loyal follower to the real historical Peter Stuyvesant, with a contrasting boisterous temperament to the stern colonial governor.

    Anthony Van Corlaer

  • Stephano is a boisterous and often drunk butler of King Alonso in William Shakespeare's play, The Tempest.

    Stephano (The Tempest)

  • Arnold has a full perception of the meaning of these simple, deeply moving traditional things; he is tender and gentle, boisterous or gay as the story requires.

    Wanderin' with Eddy Arnold

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.