roughly

adverb

rough·​ly ˈrə-flē 

1

: in a rough manner: such as

a

: with harshness or violence

treated the prisoner roughly

b

: in crude fashion : imperfectly

roughly dressed lumber

2

: without completeness or exactness : approximately

roughly 20 percent

Synonyms of roughly

• approximately
• about
• around

Examples of roughly in a Sentence

Roughly translated, it means “hurry up!”.

The new product is modeled roughly on an earlier design.

He threw the package roughly in the truck.

The guard told us roughly that we had to stand back.

Recent Examples on the Web

Reefs bring in roughly $10 million to $12 million in annual economic benefits for the county, Adams said. — Henry Larson, NPR, 12 Nov. 2026

For roughly the past 10 of those 50 years, Agnes Lee has illustrated each item in the column, contributing over 2,000 drawings in that time. — New York Times, 12 Nov. 2026

Losing Huang would create significant uncertainty for the roughly $4 trillion semiconductor giant. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Nov. 2026

Its maritime infrastructure reportedly includes a radar system mounted on a roughly 25-meter tower and radio communications equipment used to assist vessels navigating the narrow passage. — Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 11 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for roughly

• gruffly