How to Use rakish in a Sentence

rakish

adjective
  • The rakish law man would chase a baddie across Kentucky back roads and trailer parks.
    — Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 17 July 2023
  • My Mobylette had a rakish red frame and an extra-long black-leather seat with space for a girl with a scarf around her neck.
    — New York Times, 27 Oct. 2021
  • He is shorn of his rakish mustache, and a scruffy isthmus sprouts at the crown of his receding hairline.
    — Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
  • The side profile teased a sharp angles and a rakish roofline, with a small Lexus badge located above the rear wheel arch.
    — Eric Stafford, Car and Driver, 8 Apr. 2023
  • Will the rakish Benedict Bridgerton find his perfect match?
    — Olivia Wakim, AJC.com, 24 Feb. 2026
  • The model was available as an elegant two-door sports saloon (slightly larger) or a more rakish two-door coupe.
    — Robert Ross, Robb Report, 30 Jan. 2026
  • The gesture was flirtatious and naughty without seeming rakish.
    — Danielle Amir Jackson Malike Sidibe, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2023
  • The former is a rakish bar and dining room with a jungle of an outdoor terrace on the rooftop and snacks including skewers.
    — Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 17 May 2023
  • The new hat silhouette of choice is an oversized saucer shape, worn at a rakish slant so her face is still in clear view for royal fans and photographers alike.
    — Emma Spedding, Vogue, 22 Dec. 2023
  • West is cut from the finest of rakish Duke cloths, a dissolute drunk, gambler, and brawler, until the love of a good woman brings him to his knees.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 17 Nov. 2022
  • Most models bounced around in random directions, leaving rakish tufts of long grass poking up in places where chance hadn't pointed the mower yet.
    — Loz Blain july 24, New Atlas, 24 July 2025
  • Perhaps most notably, lapels may also be played with, the standard options being the sharp and more formal peaked lapel, or the slightly louche and rakish shawl.
    — Eric Twardzik, Robb Report, 26 Dec. 2025
  • His most famous early picture, of three rakish young farmers walking to a country dance in new hats, stiff suits, and too-big shoes, couldn’t have been a commission.
    — Max Norman, New Yorker, 21 May 2026
  • With his rakish sneer and ruthlessly tight jodhpurs, Rupert has been thoroughly neutered with irony, transformed into an object for women to pick at.
    — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
  • Ruffalo was offered the role of rakish attorney Duncan Wedderburn and recalled how he was sent the script.
    — Jenelle Riley, Variety, 18 Jan. 2024
  • The former is the nerdier, more officious type in his bow tie and sport coat, the latter more rakish, a one-time rabble rouser who’s just happy to have something interesting to do.
    — Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Where Cobb’s tower points brazenly to the sky, like a rocket ship ready for liftoff, the new building has its asymmetrical cap sliced at a rakish downward angle, like a wedge of cheese.
    — Mark Lamster, Dallas News, 10 June 2021
  • Those packs could become as small as 100 mm for high-performance sports models where a low seating position and rakish roofline come with the territory.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 26 Sep. 2023
  • While trying to stay under the radar, Sophie catches Benedict's attention, who is determined to leave his rakish past behind him.
    — Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
  • Historical trappings aside, the role marks a departure from the rakish George Wickham or anyone he’s portrayed before.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 12 Sep. 2025
  • When readers meet Anthony in Quinn's series, his attraction to an opera singer named Maria Rosso is briefly mentioned in a nod to his rakish ways.
    — Sam Gillette, PEOPLE.com, 26 Mar. 2022
  • Top 5 Can’t Miss Tequila here is made for sipping—at rakish cantinas, ambitious cocktail bars, and straight from the source on a distillery tour.
    — David Shortell, Travel + Leisure, 28 Sep. 2025
  • The rakish appearance — the provocatively angular exterior shape — will not be to everyone’s taste.
    — Nargess Banks, Forbes, 9 Apr. 2021
  • Nine years younger than Hepburn, Dotti was the fun-loving, rakish son of an aristocratic Italian family.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 15 May 2026
  • The result is a rakish Coke-bottle shape and immediately recognizable front and rear appearances.
    — Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 11 Aug. 2022
  • And yet the two men’s rakish charm, in one of the high watermarks of ’70s hangout cinema, makes this not just a great buddy movie but a beautiful exploration of boys-will-be-boys friendship.
    — Tim Grierson, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2021
  • Like the rakish characters in La Piscine, those in Last Summer are caught in a folie à plusieurs, where the idyllic, island setting seems to arouse their worst impulses.
    — Erik Morse, Vogue, 26 June 2025
  • Of course, the rakish accessories are also historically accurate.
    — Fawnia Soo Hoo, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Jan. 2024
  • After meeting an alluring woman dressed in silver at a masquerade ball, Benedict becomes determined to unmask her identity and put his rakish ways behind him.
    — Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
  • There was also plenty of head and legroom up front, and the steering wheel offered plenty of reach, but backseat passengers north of six feet struggled for space because of the HR-V’s rakish roofline.
    — Matthew MacConnell, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rakish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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