Boisterous Meaning
/ˈbɔɪstəɹəs/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjFull of energy; exuberant; noisy.
adjCharacterized by violence and agitation; wild; stormy.
Sentence Examples
She refused to put up with her boisterous nephews anymore.
Tom gets very boisterous watching sport on TV.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ crowd at the football game cheered loudly as the home team scored.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The group of children was being very ____ in the middle of the class.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English boistres, an alteration of Middle English boistous (“crude, unrefined”), of uncertain origin. Likely from Anglo-Norman boystous, bustous (“rough, in a crude state, disabled, paralysed, unable to walk, lame”), Old French boitous (“limping; having a rough, uneven surface”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Open carriages tend to be draughty and inadequately heated. The passenger in them has no escape from the annoyance of squalling babies, boisterous drunks, and riotous teddy-boys, who may be at the far end of the coach but whose din cannot be shut out."
— 1959 February 26, “Letters to the Editor: Open-Type Coaches on B.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 135:
"ſtaggering like a quiuering Aſpen leafe,
Fearing the force of Boreas boiſtrous blaſts."
— c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iv:
"A new and elegant dress had been provided by Lady Anne for the second day, but it was of less costly material, and, by the same rule, considerably slighter; so that Fanchette suggested the idea of substituting a slip to make it equally warm, as the weather had set in cold and boisterous."
— 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLI, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 219:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ crowd at the football game cheered loudly as the home team scored.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The group of children was being very ____ in the middle of the class.