Literary notes about ruffled (AI summary)
The word “ruffled” in literature serves as a versatile descriptor that conveys both literal disarray and metaphorical disturbance. Authors use it to evoke an image of physical disarray—for instance, a man’s untidy hair or a birdlike crest that suggests an unkempt appearance [1, 2, 3]—while simultaneously employing it to illustrate emotional agitation or a disrupted state of mind [4, 5, 6]. In some narratives, the term even extends to the natural world, describing the gentle, disturbed surface of water or the transient impact of a breeze on a peaceful setting [7, 8]. Thus, “ruffled” becomes a dynamic term that enriches both character depiction and atmospheric detail, highlighting shifts between order and disorder in compelling ways [9, 10].
- The child's eyes, staring at the man with ruffled hair and beard, did not change.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - 'The gentleman, father.' The figure at the red fire turned, raised its ruffled head, and looked like a bird of prey.
— from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens - [pg 684] face seemed to have become so tiny; his hair was ruffled, and his crest of curls in front stood up in a thin tuft.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Jo was through the last wicket, and had missed the stroke, which failure ruffled her a good deal.
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott - Carrie heard all this in a very ruffled state.
— from Sister Carrie: A Novel by Theodore Dreiser - An exhausted composure, a worn-out placidity, an equanimity of fatigue not to be ruffled by interest or satisfaction, are the trophies of her victory.
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens - There you stand, lost in the infinite series of the sea, with nothing ruffled but the waves.
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville - Sympathy with the fluttering alder and poplar leaves almost takes away my breath; yet, like the lake, my serenity is rippled but not ruffled.
— from Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau - But to give such cool advice—the very advice she had asked for—it ruffled our heroine all the afternoon.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - In this age the quiet surface of routine is as often ruffled by attempts to resuscitate past evils, as to introduce new benefits.
— from On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
