1
: resembling or suggesting a rogue elephant especially in being isolated, aberrant, dangerous, or uncontrollable : one whose behavior is independent or atypical usually in a harmful way
It would be as if rogue road builders could invisibly detour every car heading for Dallas so that it ended up in San Francisco.—
Paul Wallich
Paul WallichAnd as the surf grew throughout the day, rogue waves often washed onto the beach to soak spectators.—CBS News
CBS News2
3
: of or being a nation whose leaders defy international law or norms of international behavior
a rogue state/regime
see also:
rogued; roguing or rogueing
: to weed out inferior, diseased, or nontypical individuals from a crop plant or a field
Examples of rogue in a Sentence
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples on the Web
Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2026
War is likely to boost the dollar’s short-term value as a reserve currency but may accelerate its longer-term decline amid economic concerns and other countries’ desire to reduce their dependence on the currency of a hostile and increasingly rogue trading partner.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2026
Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2026
Investigators are still trying to identify and stop a rogue user from transmitting antisemitic and hateful messages over police, fire and emergency radios.
—Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 12 Feb. 2026
Even audiences have been left guessing whether stuffy Henry was the criminal puppet master to rogue Interpol agent Martine (Nassima Benchicou).
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rogue
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Adjective
The men and women of the American armed forces can conduct missions of almost any size with formidable competence, from special operations to seize a rogue-state president to a large-scale war.
—Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2026
War is likely to boost the dollar’s short-term value as a reserve currency but may accelerate its longer-term decline amid economic concerns and other countries’ desire to reduce their dependence on the currency of a hostile and increasingly rogue trading partner.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2026
Noun
Many are concerned that there is insufficient understanding of how to ensure it cannot be misused by bad actors or nudged to go rogue.
—Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2026
Investigators are still trying to identify and stop a rogue user from transmitting antisemitic and hateful messages over police, fire and emergency radios.
—Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
Verb
The closure launched a flurry of speculation about the cause, from an imminent invasion to rogue anti-aircraft weapons.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 12 Feb. 2026
Even audiences have been left guessing whether stuffy Henry was the criminal puppet master to rogue Interpol agent Martine (Nassima Benchicou).
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rogue
Cite this Entry
“Rogue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rogue. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rogue
1 of 2 noun1
: a dishonest or worthless person
2
: a mischievous individual
Geographical Definition
Rogue
geographical name
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
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