as in clumsy
hastily or roughly constructed
a rough-and-ready shack that the explorers threw together as winter approached
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rough-and-ready
Some showstopping pieces were sold at Vivienne Westwood’s London shop Seditionaries, which revolutionized a rough-and-ready pop-culture style that still resonates to this day.
—
Siran Babayan, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026
Its Blue Armchair, on show at design exhibition Convey, is blocky and rigid with rough-and-ready industrial detailing.
—Francesca Perry, CNN Money, 24 Apr. 2026
Since then, the 6ft 4in (193cm) Yorkshireman, released by Huddersfield Town as a youngster for being too small, had evolved from a rough-and-ready forward to become one of the lower leagues’ most reliable target men, with a reputation for delivering big goals at big moments.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
James meets rough-and-ready cowboy Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) upon arrival in Fort Worth and joins his wagon train heading West.
—Rendy Jones, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Feb. 2026
Black South African soccer developed its own clubs, its own superstars, and its own rough-and-ready style.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
The brand showed off its novel approach to creating a modern version of a vintage Land Rover Defender replete with switch panels for off-road performance and accessories and a rough-and-ready chassis design.
—Scotty Reiss, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
Star chefs from Japan and abroad are shaking up the dining scene with inventive gastronomy, though delicious casual eats from rough-and-ready street stalls and mom-and-pop shops are still Osaka's calling card.
—Melinda Joe, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Mar. 2025
But grit, rawness and dirty-realist poetry can be elusive elements to conjure, even in a production that cultivates those qualities with a rough-and-ready feel for the scrappy, sweaty storytelling of another era.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Siran Babayan, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026
Its Blue Armchair, on show at design exhibition Convey, is blocky and rigid with rough-and-ready industrial detailing.
—Francesca Perry, CNN Money, 24 Apr. 2026
Since then, the 6ft 4in (193cm) Yorkshireman, released by Huddersfield Town as a youngster for being too small, had evolved from a rough-and-ready forward to become one of the lower leagues’ most reliable target men, with a reputation for delivering big goals at big moments.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
James meets rough-and-ready cowboy Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) upon arrival in Fort Worth and joins his wagon train heading West.
—Rendy Jones, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Feb. 2026
Black South African soccer developed its own clubs, its own superstars, and its own rough-and-ready style.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
The brand showed off its novel approach to creating a modern version of a vintage Land Rover Defender replete with switch panels for off-road performance and accessories and a rough-and-ready chassis design.
—Scotty Reiss, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
Star chefs from Japan and abroad are shaking up the dining scene with inventive gastronomy, though delicious casual eats from rough-and-ready street stalls and mom-and-pop shops are still Osaka's calling card.
—Melinda Joe, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Mar. 2025
But grit, rawness and dirty-realist poetry can be elusive elements to conjure, even in a production that cultivates those qualities with a rough-and-ready feel for the scrappy, sweaty storytelling of another era.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough-and-ready
Adjective
-
After the zapfest on Earth, the anti-climactic tussle between the forces of good and evil occurs back on Eternia, where He-Man and his nemesis cross swords in a clumsy fight that’s not only predictable but also photographed and edited poorly.—
Jeffrey Ressner,
HollywoodReporter,
3 June 2026
-
The simple walking pattern adopted by fish, which the Cambridge researchers call an ‘undulating tripod gait’, can appear to be quite clumsy and involves too much flopping.—
Abhishek Bhardwaj,
Interesting Engineering,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
After a night that featured 38 foul calls and a gritty Connecticut team determined to make a statement in Atlanta, the Dream clinched a 91-74 win over the Sun in a back-and-forth matchup that started rough but ended on a high note in their first Commissioner’s Cup game.—
Micahya Costen,
AJC.com,
3 June 2026
-
The comps were particularly rough that season, as the NYC-OKC skirmish was no match for what would prove to be Michael Jordan’s final championship in Chicago.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
There is a profound difference between rude political commentary and language that normalizes violence against other human beings.—
Naperville Sun,
Chicago Tribune,
5 June 2026
-
In other words, leaving early isn't inherently rude.—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
The trappings of the Senate were another world from Mr. Abourezk’s rough-and-tumble childhood on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, where his Lebanese parents had immigrated and ran a general store.—
STEPHEN GROVES,
BostonGlobe.com,
25 Feb. 2023
-
The startup’s rough-and-tumble experiments are even more telling.—
Justine Calma,
The Verge,
24 Feb. 2023
Adjective
-
Campsites The park has two primitive (no hookups) campsites—one in each of the two main units.—
Julia Sayers Gokhale,
Midwest Living,
1 June 2026
-
Most subsea drones can only trade sparse, primitive status blips.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
Together, the findings in chimpanzees and bonobos suggest a rudimentary form of syntax, the rules that govern word order in human language and give it flexibility and creativity.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
-
But those tells generally show up only in Claude’s most rudimentary outputs.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
By the time the tournament reached Argentina four years later, though, the Dutch were not quite the slick — if defensively-flawed — outfit that played in 1974.—
Will Jeanes,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
-
Talarico can't rebrand his progressive politics with barbecue Democrats are hell-bent on flawed Platner.—
Nicole Russell,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
To this end, the team purposefully designed the AI’s training environment to be imperfect.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
7 June 2026
-
An imperfect career, yes, but also one of profound resilience.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rough-and-ready.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough-and-ready. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
