1
: having a trim or streamlined appearance suggestive of speed
a rakish ship
2
: dashingly or carelessly unconventional : jaunty
rakish clothes
Examples of rakish in a Sentence
Adjective (1)
within a few short years their rakish son had squandered the family fortune on hard liquor and fast cars
Recent Examples on the Web
Matthew MacConnell, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
The rakish womanizer has mellowed with age only insofar as he’s graduated from dating 20ish models to a 20ish poet, healer and model.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The customary rakish millinery and the supporting costume for the Grand National are as honed and extravagantly 19th-century as the racing.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
That bicorne, worn at a rakish, sideways angle, as synonymous with him as his battlefield victories.
—Lysanne Currie, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rakish
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Adjective
However, larger dogs will struggle for headroom because of the BYD Sealion 7’s rakish roofline.
—Matthew MacConnell, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
The rakish womanizer has mellowed with age only insofar as he’s graduated from dating 20ish models to a 20ish poet, healer and model.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The customary rakish millinery and the supporting costume for the Grand National are as honed and extravagantly 19th-century as the racing.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
That bicorne, worn at a rakish, sideways angle, as synonymous with him as his battlefield victories.
—Lysanne Currie, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rakish
Cite this Entry
“Rakish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rakish. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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Etymology
Adjective
from rake "libertine"
Adjective
from earlier rake "the amount of slope or lean of a ship's mast or the amount of overhang of a ship's bow"
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