rogue

noun

\ ˈrōg

Definition of rogue

(Entry 1 of 4)

1 : vagrant, tramp

2 : a dishonest or worthless person : scoundrel

3 : a mischievous person : scamp

4 : a horse inclined to shirk or misbehave

5 : an individual exhibiting a chance and usually inferior biological variation

rogue

verb

rogued; roguing or rogueing

Definition of rogue (Entry 2 of 4)

intransitive verb

: to weed out inferior, diseased, or nontypical individuals from a crop plant or a field

rogue

adjective

Definition of rogue (Entry 3 of 4)

1 : resembling or suggesting a rogue elephant especially in being isolated, aberrant, dangerous, or uncontrollable capsized by a rogue wave

2 : corrupt, dishonest rogue cops

3 : of or being a nation whose leaders defy international law or norms of international behavior rogue states

Rogue

geographical name

\ ˈrōg

Definition of Rogue (Entry 4 of 4)

river about 200 miles (320 kilometers) long in southwestern Oregon rising in Crater Lake National Park and flowing west and southwest into the Pacific Ocean

Other Words from rogue Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about rogue

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Examples of rogue in a Sentence

Noun

Many of the vagabonds were rogues and cheaters of various kinds, and formed a subcommunity on the fringes of official society. — Charles Barber, Early Modern English, 1976 Cartier decided that the two boys were a choice pair of rogues who would probably try to run him aground if taken as pilots, and that he would dispense with their services. — Samuel Eliot Morison, The European Discovery of America, 1971 His account of their discoveries in the low life of a seaport town would have made a charming book, and in the various characters that came their way the student might easily have found matter for a very complete dictionary of rogues. — W. Somerset Maugham, Moon and Sixpence, 1919 He's a lovable old rogue. a rogue who had nothing but contempt for people who made their living honestly

Adjective

Americans assume that our country was built by rogue males but there's more to the breed than wanderlust and rugged individualism. — Florence King, National Review, 27 Aug. 2007 Perhaps more important, defense planners worried for the past year about the instability of the Soviet Union and the nightmare that a rogue Soviet submarine skipper might decide on his own to launch close to 200 warheads at U.S. targets. — John Barry, Newsweek, 3 June 1991 In "The In-Laws," Alan Arkin is a dentist led astray by a rogue C.I.A. operative … , whose son his daughter is marrying, and he winds up dodging bullets on a Caribbean island. — Terrence Rafferty, New Yorker, 30 July 1990 a rogue administrator who took bribes to falsify paperwork

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The incident prompted international attention, and rabid speculation as to who was controlling the rogue UAV. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "We Still Know So Alarmingly Little About How a Drone Shut Down an Airport for Two Days," 3 Jan. 2019 The hijackers used their access to set up a rogue domain resolver that redirected traffic destined to MyEtherWallet.com. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "How 3ve’s BGP hijackers eluded the Internet—and made $29M," 21 Dec. 2018 Despite Do Not Call lists, the shrieking of obscenities and other defenses, rogue calls have only been growing. — James R. Hagerty, WSJ, "Everyone Loathes Robocalls. Some People Try to Get Even.," 20 Dec. 2018 In 1907, businessman and author Thomas Lawson published a novel entitled Friday, the Thirteenth about a rogue broker who chose that date to destroy the stock market. — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, "Why Do People Think the Number 13 Is Unlucky? Let's Talk About Triskaidekaphobia," 29 Aug. 2018 The comments mark a major change in tone after months of bombastic threats by the rogue regime to keep developing its nuclear and missile program. — Katherine Lam, Fox News, "Trump warns 'world is watching' after North Korea says it's willing to give up nuclear weapons," 2 Oct. 2018 My heart is thumping against the Spanx-like shirt my trainers gave me, with a padded shield protecting the chest area, just in case a rotor blade goes rogue. — Dan Neil, WSJ, "The First Flying-Car Review," 12 Sep. 2018 Donald Trump’s yardstick for his own success is going rogue. — Fortune, "'Dow Vigilantes' Are Retaliating Against President Trump After Tariff Announcement," 6 Mar. 2018 Having dry eye can also make your contacts more likely to go rogue. — Korin Miller, SELF, "Why Do My Contacts Keep Popping Out of My Eyes?," 29 Aug. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

But a conservative Court of Appeals panel could rogue and decide to disobey Roe and Casey. — Dylan Matthews, Vox, "America under Brett Kavanaugh," 11 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Prosecutors in counties across the country maintain a database of rogue police officers who have come under scrutiny for dishonesty and other misdeeds. — The Kansas City Star Editorial Board, kansascity, "A database could help track problem police officers. Why don't KC-area prosecutors have one?," 14 June 2018 Aiming for one can lead to a whole group, resulting in a bald spot that's much harder to cover up than a few rogue hairs. — Sarah Ferguson, Marie Claire, "You've Spotted Your First Gray Hair: A Game Plan," 9 Nov. 2018 Mattis articulated his concept early this year in a new national defense strategy that defined great-power competition with Russia and China as the military’s top priority – and minimized the focus on counterterrorism and threats from rogue nations. — Dan Lamothe, The Seattle Times, "Mattis’ goals teeter as he works to temper Trump," 15 Oct. 2018 Pompeo is at the Koryo Hotel in the rogue nation's capital for meetings, Fox News has learned. — Adam Shaw, Fox News, "Pompeo arrives in North Korea to prepare for meeting with Kim Jong Un," 2 Oct. 2018 The base of a space elevator would be a tempting target for terrorists and rogue nations and would need to be heavily defended. — Colin Stuart, WSJ, "Will Elevators to Outer Space Ever Get Off the Ground?," 20 Sep. 2018 One of Brazil’s latest movie releases, The Awakener, features a rogue officer in a superhero-like disguise who assassinates politicians accused of corruption before blowing up Congress. — Samantha Pearson, WSJ, "In Latin America, Awash in Crime, Citizens Impose Their Own Brutal Justice," 6 Dec. 2018 Ex-Melvindale Police Chief Chad Hayse claims the city is using a rogue police officer to help eliminate its $1-million debt through improper impounds. — Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, "Lawsuit: Melvindale uses abusive cop to make money off towing scam," 21 June 2018 Salamoni is eager to get back to his job killing and brutalizing the black people of Baton Rouge, La., while the black people of Baton Rouge are thankful to the police department for protecting them from a rogue police officer. — Michael Harriot, The Root, "Cop Who Killed Alton Sterling Caught on Video Slapping Handcuffed Man: Report," 1 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rogue.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.