ruffle.
Any gathered or curled strip of fabric added as trim or decoration.
Meaning & usage
Any gathered or curled strip of fabric added as trim or decoration.
She loved the dress with the lace ruffle at the hem.
Disturbance; agitation; commotion.
to put the mind in a ruffle
A low, vibrating beat of a drum, quieter than a roll; a ruff.
The connected series of large egg capsules, or oothecae, of several species of American marine gastropods of the genus Fulgur.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English ruffelen, perhaps from Old Norse hrufla (“to graze, scratch”) or Middle Low German ruffelen (“to wrinkle, curl”). Further origin unknown. Related to Middle Dutch ruyffelen, German Low German ruffeln. See English ruff.
To make a ruffle in; to curl or flute, as an edge of fabric.
Ruffle the end of the cuff.
To disturb; especially, to cause to flutter.
The wind ruffled the papers.
Her sudden volley of insults ruffled his composure.
To grow rough, boisterous, or turbulent.
To become disordered; to play loosely; to flutter.
To be rough; to jar; to be in contention; hence, to put on airs; to swagger.
To make into a ruff; to draw or contract into puckers, plaits, or folds; to wrinkle.
To erect in a ruff, as feathers.
To beat with the ruff or ruffle, as a drum.
To throw together in a disorderly manner.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English ruffelen, perhaps from Old Norse hrufla (“to graze, scratch”) or Middle Low German ruffelen (“to wrinkle, curl”). Further origin unknown. Related to Middle Dutch ruyffelen, German Low German ruffeln. See English ruff.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.