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
rogued; roguing or rogueing
: to weed out inferior, diseased, or nontypical individuals from a crop plant or a field
Phrases
go rogue
or run rogue
: to begin to behave in an independent or uncontrolled way that is not authorized, normal, or expected
… Clark [a bald eagle] was supposed to fly around the stadium, high above people's heads. But instead, he went rogue and decided to perch on two unsuspecting fans.—Nicole Gallucci
Nicole Gallucci… the inmates have broken loose and are running rogue throughout the prison.—Maggie McHale
Maggie McHaleAnders had been sent to the Amazon to monitor the program's progress under the formidable Dr. Annick Swensen (who may have gone rogue and is no longer returning the company's calls).—Yvonne Zipp
Yvonne ZippWhenever a member of a group goes rogue, you can be absolutely certain that other members of that group will pop up with the "bad apple" defense, as in, "Well, sure, there's a few bad apples in every bunch, but that's the exception."—Christine Flowers
Christine FlowersExamples 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
Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
My diagnosis of breast cancer hit me like a rogue wave.
—Marielle Segarra, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
Doyle Rice, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
Meanwhile, DigitalMint and Sygnia indicate both employees went rogue and were subsequently fired.
—PC Magazine, 3 Nov. 2025
Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Written for the home gardener and the more seasoned horticulturist alike, this book covers crop selection, pollination, roguing, and the processes of harvesting and storing seeds, honoring traditions, and encouraging a joy for understanding of the art and science of seed saving.
—Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 28 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for rogue
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Adjective
Some, called rogue planets, don't even orbit a star, but rather are floating through the cosmos untethered.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
My diagnosis of breast cancer hit me like a rogue wave.
—Marielle Segarra, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
Theories range from the Fitzgerald striking a shoal and suffering bottom damage to flooding through the freighter's hatch covers, which filled the ship with water and sank it, to rogue waves, to structural flaws in the ship that the 1975 storm made deadly.
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
Meanwhile, DigitalMint and Sygnia indicate both employees went rogue and were subsequently fired.
—PC Magazine, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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
Written for the home gardener and the more seasoned horticulturist alike, this book covers crop selection, pollination, roguing, and the processes of harvesting and storing seeds, honoring traditions, and encouraging a joy for understanding of the art and science of seed saving.
—Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 28 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for rogue
Cite this Entry
“Rogue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rogue. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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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