rumbustious
adjEtymology Uncertain but probably variation of robustious (“robust, large, noisy, violent”), from robust + -ious. Alternatively, from rum- (“nonsense syllable”) + bust + -ious.
- “Childer! Borne ’em I ’ave, an’ buried ’em I ’ave, but now I can’t seem to do wi’ their clatter no more—young things is that restless an’ rumbustious.”1912, Blanche Edith Baughan, “Red and Yellow and Ripe”, in Brown Bread from a Colonial Oven:
- In the rumbustious atmosphere of the mania years, 1845 and 1846, this state of things gave rise to acrimony which both sides faced with confidence; but as the reaction set in during 1847, it seemed better to come to terms.1955 February, Michael Robbins, “A Railway Treaty: The Brighton and South Eastern Agreement of 1848”, in Railway Magazine, page 98:
2 more examples
- Joe Githongo had paid a personal price during the Moi era, and proved his credentials during the rumbustious multi-party years, working as a fundraiser for Kibaki’s Democratic Party.2009, Michela Wrong, It’s Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle Blower:
- Since Trump returned to office in January last year, Pete Hegseth, the rumbustious defense secretary who has made it his mission to remake a military ethos he denounced as “woke”, has fired or forcibly retired 24 generals and senior commanders, with no performance-related reason given.2026 May 3, Robert Tait, “‘This is just disarray’: alarm inside Pentagon after Hegseth staff purges”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
- Derived terms
- rambunctious, rumbustiously, rumbustiousness, rumbustical
- Related terms
- rumbullion