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

The roughly 650-year-old ship, which was likely sailing from China to Temasek, a historic settlement on the site of modern-day Singapore, contained a record haul of Yuan Dynasty porcelain, according to the paper that detailed its discovery. —Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 28 Feb. 2026

Jurors deliberated for roughly nine hours before reaching a verdict Friday evening. —James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2026

Donors who listed their occupation as some form of business executive gave roughly $120 million to Harris and her allied committees against just over $16 million to Trump and his aligned committees, according to the Washington Examiner’s analysis. —Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026

Donalds’ campaign has spent about $200,000 so far on advertising out of roughly $50 million raised. —Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for roughly

• gruffly