ROUGH-EDGED Synonyms: 49 Similar and Opposite Words

rough-edged

adjective

Definition of rough-edged

as in unpolished

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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-edged Andor is charming and rough-edged, a solo space cowboy accustomed to hustling his own way. — Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 21 May 2025 Here we are faced with an aesthetic that is indeed poetic, but also austere; contemplative, yet analytical, critical—at times even rough-edged. — Alessia Glaviano, Vogue, 14 May 2025 One of the things Sean Baker does exceptionally well is draw us into a vivid and highly specific milieu, nurturing our affections for characters who are rough-edged, to put it mildly, and then whip up a vortex of steadily escalating chaos. — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 May 2024 Foster’s version of Sarah was more defiant and rough-edged than the producers and the director, Jonathan Kaplan, wanted. — Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough-edged

Adjective

Celebrated as masterpieces today, at the time they were regarded as the unpolished works of a depressed, crazy man and commercially worthless.

— Joan Martelli, Time, 17 Oct. 2026
One young fashion photographer who made a name for himself at indie mags like i-D with his unpolished images of a teenage Kate Moss, was Juergen Teller.

— Sheena McKenzie, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of unpolished

Adjective

People had used rude words on television before, but never in such uncouth tones as Lydon and Jones in a regional ITV interview on 1 December 1976.

— The Week UK, TheWeek, 23 Aug. 2026
His gruff mechanic Cooter Davenport is introduced as a hell-raising, uncouth wild man, constantly taunting the authorities and flouting convention.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of uncouth

Adjective

The problem is that this group is mostly comprised of uncultured idiots, so Shai and Georgia are the only people who know what Rocky Horror is.

— Tom Smyth, Vulture, 16 July 2026
In certain circles, identifying with the city is shorthand for being uncultured and self-obsessed, even soulless.

— Ella Berman August 7, Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2025

Definition of uncultured

Adjective

Featuring brass and accordions, Hippies, Thugs and Heroes was recorded mostly live in the studio, giving the songs a brisk, rough-hewn edge.

— David Harris, SPIN, 20 Oct. 2026
The outdoor cinema is wrapped by a rough-hewn Brutalist perimeter—half-lined with concrete cubes, the other half enclosed with planks salvaged from the boardwalk destroyed during Hurricane Sandy.

— Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of rough-hewn

Adjective

From blazing stars and diminutive buttercups to uncultivated roses and sunflowers, the Midwest is blessed with many gorgeous native wildflowers.

— Erika Ebsworth-Goold, Midwest Living, 20 Apr. 2026
Down these uncultivated paths, Horace’s Lydia, Tibullus’s Delia, and Ovid’s Corinna had passed, but only Virgil’s Philomela remained.

— Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026

Definition of uncultivated

Adjective

In her smartly vulgar The Seasons (1957), which extends nearly 17 feet, Krasner returns to the subject of rebirth one year after Pollock’s death, depicting abundant forms resembling genitalia.

— John Yau, ARTnews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
While Musgraves' comments received both praise and backlash, one country music legend took exception to the vulgar remarks.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of vulgar

Adjective

That’s already more standout performances than in the entire run of films, a reminder that working with trashy IP is a safer bet than attempting to embellish a classic.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2026
And indeed, the show was teased with a trashy image—a picture of a New York City street lined with waste during the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike, that is.

— Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of trashy

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roughed

rough-edged

roughed it

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“Rough-edged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough-edged. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of rough-edged

adjective

Example Sentences

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