ragamuffin
5 synonyms and 0 antonyms for ragamuffin, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A scruffy, dirty child in torn clothes.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun
A scruffy, dirty child in torn clothes.
“Three little ragamuffins were kicking a ball around the yard.”
2. noun also spelled ragga, raggamuffin
A style of Jamaican dancehall music with rapped or chanted vocals over digital rhythms, and a performer of it.
“The set closed with a ragamuffin track from the late eighties.”
How to use ragamuffin
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Affectionate rather than cruel when used of children, and slightly old-fashioned. The music and cat-breed senses are usually capitalised or spelled ragga / Ragamuffin respectively.
Etymology
Recorded in Middle English as Ragamuffyn, the name of a demon in Piers Plowman, and associated from early on with rag in the sense of a tattered garment. The second element is of uncertain origin.
Full origin of ragamuffin →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a ragamuffin and a ruffian?
A ragamuffin is simply scruffy and poorly dressed, and the word carries no suggestion of bad behaviour. A ruffian is violent or thuggish. The two are often confused because they sound alike and both suggest the rough end of the street.
What is the difference between a Ragamuffin cat and a Ragdoll?
They share ancestry and both are large, placid, semi-longhaired cats. Ragdolls are restricted to pointed colour patterns with blue eyes, while Ragamuffins are accepted in a much wider range of colours and eye colours.