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

Local rinks are filling back up, the Sabres’ rookie camp opens in just over a week and in roughly two weeks the team’s veterans will begin training camp for the 2026-27 season. — Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Gaming still accounts for roughly 45% of Macau’s GDP, and the industry supplies about 80% of the government’s tax revenue. — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2026

Japan's 10-year government bond yield recently breached 3%, hitting a high not seen in roughly 30 years. — CNBC, 9 Sep. 2026

That equals emissions from a standard passenger vehicle driving between 2,000 and 5,200 miles — roughly the one-way distance between Seattle and Miami. — Cassandra Thiel, STAT, 8 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for roughly

• gruffly