rough-hewn
adjective
1
: being in a rough, unsmoothed, or unfinished state : crudely formed
rough-hewn beams
2
: lacking refinement
… charming in a rough-hewn kind of way.—
Timothy Ferris
Timothy FerrisExamples of rough-hewn in a Sentence
a survivalist living in a rough-hewn shelter in the wilderness
a rough-hewn kid who had to learn how to behave properly in polite company
rough-hewn military cadets feeling a little self-conscious at their first formal dance
Recent Examples on the Web
The split-personality rig is a rough-hewn, hard-nosed adventure support vehicle outside and an exceptionally comfortable and livable home-on-a-hitch inside.
—New Atlas, 4 Nov. 2025
Old-Looking Surfaces The house features rough plaster walls and chunky, rough-hewn timber ceiling beams.
—Amy Panos, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Oct. 2025
Over a mashup of fiddles and guitars, Tod and Jennings blend their rough-hewn voices on a song about consequences for older vices and choices, pondering when the consequences of those actions outweigh the vices themselves.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2025
Live-wire, frantic, and gruffly realistic, Dog Day Afternoon is one of the great crime films of all time and a quintessentially ’70s one, with its rough-hewn everyday characters and sweaty, imperfect flailing of a bank robbery.
—Christina Newland, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
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New Atlas, 4 Nov. 2025
Old-Looking Surfaces The house features rough plaster walls and chunky, rough-hewn timber ceiling beams.
—Amy Panos, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Oct. 2025
Over a mashup of fiddles and guitars, Tod and Jennings blend their rough-hewn voices on a song about consequences for older vices and choices, pondering when the consequences of those actions outweigh the vices themselves.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 29 Sep. 2025
Live-wire, frantic, and gruffly realistic, Dog Day Afternoon is one of the great crime films of all time and a quintessentially ’70s one, with its rough-hewn everyday characters and sweaty, imperfect flailing of a bank robbery.
—Christina Newland, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rough-hewn
Cite this Entry
“Rough-hewn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rough-hewn. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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