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# ruffle

«ruffle» in Mova's school dictionary: **To make something uneven or messy, like hair, feathers or…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (ruffle, ruffles, ruffled, ruffling); noun (a ruffle, ruffles)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (verb) To make something uneven or messy, like hair, feathers or a smooth surface. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/ruffle/#m1)

2) (verb) To annoy or upset someone a little: "ruffle someone's feathers". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/ruffle/#m2)

3) (noun) A strip of gathered cloth used as decoration on a dress or shirt; a frill. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/ruffle/#m3)

4) (noun) A soft drum roll. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/ruffle/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life, grown-ups ruffle children's hair as a friendly gesture. In nature, birds ruffle their feathers to keep warm or look bigger. In stories, the wind ruffles water or leaves; "ruffle feathers" means upset people. Phrases: ruffle someone's hair, ruffle feathers, unruffled (calm), a dress with ruffles.

### examples

- Grandad ruffled my hair and smiled. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/ruffle/#x1)
- A breeze ruffled the surface of the lake. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/ruffle/#x2)
- The bird ruffled its feathers in the cold. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/ruffle/#x3)
- Her rude comment ruffled a few feathers. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/ruffle/#x4)
- The princess wore a dress with lots of ruffles. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/ruffle/#x5)
- He stayed calm and unruffled during the test. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/ruffle/#x6)
- 'Can you ruffle your fur when you are angry, or purr when you are pleased?' said she. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/ruffle/#x7)

### note

Past form: ruffled. "Unruffled" means calm. Do not confuse with "rumple" (crease) or "raffle" (prize draw).

### In the corpora

- [I got a scooter.» Afterwards Grandpa ruffles her hair: «Bummer of a call, kiddo?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/517-the-parent-who-left-and-a-new-partner/9/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «ruffle» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/ruffle/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.