What does raucous mean?
Word: Raucous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Raucous means loud, rough and harsh to listen to, often with a lot of shouting or laughing.
Synonyms: noisy, harsh
Antonyms: quiet
Word origin: From Latin raucus, 'hoarse'.
How do you spell raucous?
Syllables: rau - cous
Tricky part: The weak last syllable tempts students to write -cus, but the word ends in -ous, the same ending as famous and nervous.
Watch out for: raucus, raucas, raucos
Memory tip: Shout 'O, U!' at the end of a raucous cheer: those two letters come just before the final s.
Raucous in a sentence
Example 1: The raucous cheers from the stands could be heard three streets away.
Example 2: Mynas keep up a raucous chatter in the neem tree every evening.
Example 3: Our raucous game of antakshari ended when Grandma asked us to lower our voices.
Fun Fact
Raucous and ruckus look and sound alike and both describe noise, but they are not related: ruckus is a much newer word, probably formed from ruction and rumpus.
Practise the CREST Way
Sound Check
In which word is 'au' pronounced differently?
a) laundry
b) raucous
c) applause
d) gauge
Show answer
d) gauge. In gauge, au says 'ay'; in raucous, applause and laundry it says 'aw'.
Spellacadabra
Choose the misspelt word:
a) gracious
b) luscious
c) precious
d) rauccous
Show answer
d) rauccous. Raucous has only one c, in the middle: rau-cous.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
cuosaur
a) dull and boring to watch
b) sweet and gentle in taste
c) careful and slow in movement
d) loud and harsh to listen to
Show answer
d) loud and harsh to listen to. The seven letters make raucous, which describes a harsh, noisy sound.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with the correct options:
1. raucous 2. generous 3. ancient a. hushed b. modern c. stingy
a) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
c) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
d) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
Show answer
c) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b. Raucous noise is the reverse of a hushed room, a generous friend the reverse of a stingy one, and ancient the reverse of modern.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which sound would you describe as raucous?
a) leaves rustling in a breeze
b) a mother humming a lullaby
c) a cat purring on a cushion
d) a flock of crows cawing at dawn
Show answer
d) a flock of crows cawing at dawn
2. Which word could stand in for raucous in 'the raucous crowd'?
a) polite
b) rowdy
c) sleepy
d) tidy
Show answer
b) rowdy
