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farouche

/fəˈruʃ/
IPA guide

If someone describes you as farouche, they either mean you're wild and disorderly, or that you're awkward and shy. Either way, it's not a compliment!

Farouche is from the Late Latin forasticus, "living outside," and its root, foras, "outdoors." Originally, it described anyone so uncomfortable socializing with other people that they didn't seem to be used to civilized human company. In this way, a farouche person was both "wild" and "shy." In fact, you can describe both the kid running wildly through a party knocking things over and her sister, sitting sullenly in the corner refusing to talk, as farouche.

Definitions of farouche
  1. adjective
    shy or unsociable in a moody or unpleasant way
  2. adjective
    pertaining to wild or frightening behavior
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