ruffle

English

Pronunciation

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• Rhymes: -ʌfəl

Noun

ruffle (plural ruffles)

1. Any gathered or curled strip of fabric added as trim or decoration.

   She loved the dress with the lace ruffle at the hem.

2. disturbance; agitation; commotion

   to put the mind in a ruffle

3. (military) A low, vibrating beat of a drum, quieter than a roll; a ruff.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of H. L. Scott to this entry?)

4. (zoology) The connected series of large egg capsules, or oothecae, of several species of American marine gastropods of the genus Fulgur.

Synonyms

• (strip of fabric): frill, furbelow

Translations

strip of fabric

• Finnish: röyhelö (fi)
• French: falbala (fr) m
• German: Rüsche (de) f, Krause (de) f
• Italian: falpalà (it) m

• Polish: falbanka (pl) f
• Russian: оборка (ru) (oborka) f
• Spanish: volante (es) m

Verb

ruffle (third-person singular simple present ruffles, present participle ruffling, simple past and past participle ruffled)

1. (transitive) To make a ruffle in; to curl or flute, as an edge of fabric.

   Ruffle the end of the cuff.

2. (transitive) To disturb; especially, to cause to flutter.

   The wind ruffled the papers.

   Her sudden volley of insults ruffled his composure.

Translations

to curl or flute

• Finnish: röyhelöittää (fi)
• French: ébouriffer (fr)

• Serbo-Croatian: promrsiti (sh), razmrsiti (sh)
• Spanish: retorcer (es)

to disturb

• Finnish: liikuttaa (fi) (general); heilutella (fi), värisyttää (fi) (to cause to flutter); pörröttää (fi) (of hair or similar)

Derived terms

• ruffly