rough Hear it!

rough Definition

rough (ruf)

adjective

    1. not smooth or level; having bumps, projections, etc.; uneven a rough surface
    2. not easily traveled over or through because rocky, overgrown, wild, etc. rough country
  2. shaggy or bristly an animal with a rough coat
  3. characterized by violent action, motion, agitation, disturbance, or irregularity; specif.,
    1. stormy; tempestuous rough weather
    2. boisterous or disorderly rough play
  4. harsh, rude, brutal, etc.; not gentle or mild a rough temper
  5. sounding harsh; discordant; jarring
  6. tasting harsh or astringent rough wine
  7. coarse, as texture, cloth, food, etc.
  8. coarse in manner, tastes, etc.; lacking refinement or culture rough men, rough language
  9. lacking refinements, comforts, and conveniences the rough life of a pioneer
  10. not refined, polished, or prepared; natural, crude, etc. a rough diamond
  11. not finished, elaborated, perfected, etc. a rough sketch
  12. not worked out in detail; without claim to be exact or complete; approximate a rough estimate
  13. requiring muscular energy rather than skill or intelligence rough labor
  14. Informal difficult, severe, or disagreeable a rough time
  15. Phonet. articulated with an aspirate; having the sound (h)

Etymology: ME ruh, rugh < OE ruh, akin to Ger rauh < IE *reuk < base *reu-, to tear, tear out (> rug, rotten): prob. basic sense “hairy, woolly”

noun

  1. rough ground
  2. rough material or condition
  3. the rough part, aspect, etc. of something
  4. ☆ a rough sketch or draft
  5. Chiefly Brit. a rough person; rowdy; tough
  6. Golf any part of the course where grass, weeds, etc. are allowed to grow, uncut, forming a hazard or obstacle

adverb

  1. in a rough manner; roughly
  2. Brit. without shelter; outdoors to sleep rough

transitive verb

  1. to make rough; roughen: often with up
    1. to handle or treat roughly or brutally: usually with up
    2. Football, etc. to subject (an opponent) to intentional and unnecessary roughness
  3. to make, fashion, sketch, shape, or cut roughly: usually with in or out to rough out a scheme
  4. to apply some preparatory or preliminary process or treatment to

intransitive verb

  1. Rare to become rough
  2. to behave roughly a penalty for roughing

rough Related Forms

rough′·ish adjective rough′ly adverb rough′·ness noun

rough Idioms

in the rough

in a rough or crude state

rough it

to live without customary comforts and conveniences, as in camping

rough Synonyms

rough

modif.

  1. Not smooth

    unequal, broken, coarse, choppy, ruffled, uneven, ridged, rugged, scabrous, irregular, unsanded, needing sanding, needing finishing, needing smoothing, not sanded, not smoothed, not finished, unfinished, lacking the finishing touches, bumpy, rocky, stony, jagged, grinding, knobby, sharpening, cutting, sharp, crinkled, crumpled, rumpled, scraggly, scraggy, hairy, shaggy, hirsute, bushy, tufted, bearded, woolly, nappy, unshaven, unshorn, gnarled, knotty, nodose, bristly.

    Antonyms smooth, level*, even. *

  2. Not gentle

    harsh, strict, stern; see severe 2.

  3. Crude

    boorish, uncivil, uncultivated; see coarse 2, rude 1.

  4. Not quiet

    buffeting, stormy, tumultuous; see stormy 1, turbulent.

  5. Unfinished

    incomplete, imperfect, unpolished; see crude 1, unfinished 1.

  6. Approximate

    inexact, imprecise, estimated; see approximate.

rough Synonyms

rough

n.

  1. Any roughness

    unevenness, irregularity, bumpiness; see roughness 1.

  2. In golf, any unkempt part of the course

    tall grass, weeds, brush, stoniness, off the fairway, fog*, jungle*.

in the rough

unfinished, unrefined, rough; see crude 1, unfinished 1.

rough Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • pretty: I also felt pretty rough, I think Ive had a bit of a cold.
  • fairly: The vessels could not be separated while they were at sea as there was a strong wind and fairly rough sea at the time.
  • notoriously: Unperturbed by this notoriously rough ride in the TV milieu, Lynch made Mulholland Drive for ABC as the pilot for a new series.
  • rather: WAP, after all, is a rather rough Internet access standard for mobile phones.
  • slightly: They were warm and moist but slightly rough like the hands.
  • too: I think their father is too rough with them very often.

Preposition: on

street: A reduction of the number of people sleeping rough on the streets of Oxford from 52 in June 1999 to 13 in September 2004.

Preposition: around

edge: Some of the detailing is also rough around the edges.

Modifies a noun

  • sleeper: Unlike the big cities, rough sleepers are rarely seen.
  • terrain: All of which help to soften out the rough terrain, increasing your enjoyment.
  • grassland: Lock four will be built in the triangle of rough grassland in the upper part of the view.
  • sleeping: Tackling the scandal of rough sleeping was an early government priority.
  • grazing: Bracken fern is a weed species mainly found on rough grazing.
  • pasture: Here you're on a steep slope of rough pasture.

Used with adjective complement

  • sleep: I hated sleeping rough " " I've been able to learn new computer skills, go to college.
  • feel: I also felt pretty rough, I think Ive had a bit of a cold.
  • live: SURVIVOR: Fern Whitelaw with her new buddy Bluey, a greyhound that lived rough in the woods or over a year.
  • ride: Allowing big corporations to ride rough shod over internationally recognized workers rights.
  • get: He said something about turning back if the going got too rough, but I do not recall the surrender being offered.
  • look: It was the first time I'd seen her for about eighteen months, and even through the glass partition she looked rough.