riotous

adjective

ri·​ot·​ous ˈrī-ə-təs 

1

a

: of the nature of a riot : turbulent

b

: participating in riot

2

: abundant, exuberant

the garden was riotous with flowers

riotously adverb

riotousness noun

Synonyms

• antic
• chucklesome
• comedic
• comic
• comical
• droll
• farcical
• funny
• hilarious
• humoristic
• humorous
• hysterical
• hysteric
• killing
• laughable
• ludicrous
• ridiculous
• risible
• screaming
• sidesplitting
• uproarious

Examples of riotous in a Sentence

a riotous profusion of flowers

his riotous mugging always has everyone in hysterics

Recent Examples on the Web

In over their heads, Rory enlists his reluctant therapist, played by Hong Chau, to join their riotous escape through the city, where the inept thieves must put aside their differences and work together to evade capture — or worse. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 June 2024

That is a sweet, sentimental way of describing a show that is also a riotous, foul-mouthed and violent tale of culture clashes and religious dogma. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2024

The banana split cream pie is a riotous medley of flavors. —Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 14 Mar. 2024

What the organization produced was a riotous collage of overlapping arrows. —Jason K. Stearns, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

riotous

adjective

ri·​ot·​ous ˈrī-ət-əs 

1

a

: of the nature of a riot

b

: taking part in rioting

2

: abundant

a garden riotous with flowers

riotously adverb

Legal Definition

riotous

adjective

ri·​ot·​ous ˈrī-ə-təs 

1

: of the nature of a riot

riotous conduct

2

: participating in a riot

a riotous assemblage