Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Resembling or given to the practices of a rake; given to a dissolute life; lewd; debauched.
  • Jaunty.
  • Nautical, having an unusual amount of rake or inclination of the masts, as a vessel. The piratical craft of former times were distinguished for their rakish build.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective (Naut.) Having a saucy appearance indicative of speed and dash.
  • adjective Dissolute; lewd; debauched.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective dashingly, carelessly, or sportingly unconventional or stylish; jaunty; characterized by a devil-may-care unconventionality; having a somewhat disreputable quality or appearance.
  • adjective old-fashioned like a rake; dissolute; profligate

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness
  • adjective marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners

Etymologies

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Examples

  • I think it's kind of rakish--looks like he's winking.

    What I cooked last night. 2006

  • It turned out looking kind of rakish and cheerful and rather like how I like to think of myself.

    Hip Op minus four days intertext 2006

  • My insistence that my haircuts are in some capacity 'rakish' no matter what anybody (chotbot) says.

    robotsarered Diary Entry robotsarered 2005

  • She laughed, standing as cool as you please, very grateful to the eye in tussore coat and skirt, with open-necked blouse, and some kind of rakish hat displaying her thick auburn hair in defiance of the fashion which decreed concealment even of eyebrows with flower-pot head gear.

    The Mountebank William John Locke 1896

  • It's not that hard to imagine him in the part -- Reynolds had the kind of rakish charm that Harrison Ford ultimately brought to the role.

    Forbes.com: News 2010

  • It's not that hard to imagine him in the part -- Reynolds had the kind of rakish charm that Harrison Ford ultimately brought to the role.

    Forbes.com: News 2010

  • The exterior styling changes are so subtle as to be subliminal: some character lines here and there, a narrowed stare from upswept headlamps, a slightly more rakish windshield.

    Honda's Sporty New Civic, Heavy on the 'Ick' Dan Neil 2011

  • Honda The exterior styling changes are so subtle as to be subliminal: some character lines here and there, a narrowed stare from upswept headlamps, a slightly more rakish windshield.

    A Giant Stumbles 2011

  • The Tru 140S is a rakish, front-drive car in the Japanese/Korean "Fast and Furious" mode.

    Which Car Fantasies Should Come to Life? Joseph B. White 2012

  • My wife, who has impeccable taste, loves me in the top hat and commented that it was both "handsome" and "rakish" upon me.

    Time to Top Up? Steve Garbarino 2011

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