rakishly disreputable

Meaning

1. 1adjectivebefore a nounliterary

   Having a careless, stylish appearance or manner that suggests a lack of respect for social rules, often in an appealing way.

   Grammar: Used before a noun, as in 'a rakishly disreputable young man'. It can also follow a linking verb: 'He looked rakishly disreputable.'

   Patterns

   • a rakishly disreputable person
   • look rakishly disreputable

   He wore a battered leather jacket and a crooked smile, looking rakishly disreputable.

   The novel's hero is a rakishly disreputable artist who charms everyone he meets.

   She found his rakishly disreputable manner both irritating and attractive.

Common combinations

look rakishly disreputable

After the party, he looked rakishly disreputable with his tie undone.

a rakishly disreputable charm

He had a rakishly disreputable charm that made people forgive his faults.

sound rakishly disreputable

His plans for the weekend sounded rakishly disreputable.

a rakishly disreputable character

The bar was full of rakishly disreputable characters.

Synonyms and how they differ

dissolute

Stronger and more disapproving; it suggests immoral behavior rather than stylish carelessness.

disreputable

Without 'rakishly', it simply means not respectable; the adverb adds a sense of stylish recklessness.

roguish

Often playful and charming, but not necessarily suggesting a bad reputation.

Opposites

Word family

rake noun

A man who behaves in an immoral, dissolute way, often used in literary contexts.

rakish adjective

Careless and stylish, often in a way that suggests a lack of moral strictness.

disrepute noun

The state of being not respected or trusted.

Commonly confused: rakishly disreputable or rakish? rakishly disreputable or disreputable?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “rakishly disreputable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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