as in vulgar
lacking in refinement or good taste
their roughneck antics were amusing only if you were as drunk as they were
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
a group of roughnecks like to hang out at the roadhouse and harass people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of roughneck
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
10 June 2025
Where was Benn, their leader and roughneck captain, when Evan Bouchard gave Hintz a dirty slash on the top of his foot — in the exact same place Darnell Nurse injured him and cost him a game and a half — in Game 4?
—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
William Earl,
Variety,
22 Dec. 2025
But this is a look at the more dynamic version, like the roughnecks out in the patch and the offices in Dallas and Fort Worth.
—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for roughneck
Adjective
Solomon’s estranged roughneck father (Chris Bauer) hawks macho health supplements and scams Solomon into becoming one of his salesmen.
—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
10 June 2025
Where was Benn, their leader and roughneck captain, when Evan Bouchard gave Hintz a dirty slash on the top of his foot — in the exact same place Darnell Nurse injured him and cost him a game and a half — in Game 4?
—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Noun
Beyond his duties as a host and journalist, the native West Texan spent time working as an oil roughneck himself, and grew up in a family with members in the fields.
—
William Earl,
Variety,
22 Dec. 2025
But this is a look at the more dynamic version, like the roughnecks out in the patch and the offices in Dallas and Fort Worth.
—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for roughneck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roughneck
Adjective
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In recent years, Trae Young has repeatedly tormented the Knicks at the famed Madison Square Garden, turning clutch shots and postgame showmanship into vulgar chants from New York fans.
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This isn’t about the vulgar prices now being charged to get into the building and Celebrity Row.
Noun
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Ditto Hugh Jackman’s unerring performance — perhaps his finest dramatic work yet — as a savage, unfeeling thug and unrepentant murderer and thief.
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The actions of these thugs, who should be imprisoned for a long while, is the cause of denying real Knicks fans the chance to watch the game communally.
Adjective
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With the games having kicked off, the sport has shown its ineffable power to supplant crass and capitalistic overreach.
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Boys and young men have always enjoyed the crassest of humor.
Noun
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Neither immigrant family should be linked to violent gangsters, of course.
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By telling a relatively straightforward story that blends real people from the era of the Gotti Mafia family with imagined characters, Martin Scorsese's dramedy biopic about a kid who falls in love with the gangster life is as even-keeled as anything the director has made.
Adjective
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It’s widely considered rude and annoying when people cluster by the train doors if there are more people on the platform attempting to get on.
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Many of these terms were meant as insults and were – and remain today – tremendously rude, but others reflect the bewilderment of trying to categorize people who don’t fit into standard categories easily.
Noun
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This makes your accounts much harder to break into, even if a criminal gets control of your phone number.
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And historically, denaturalization has been reserved for the most egregious offenders, such as human rights abusers and violent criminals.
Adjective
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Most soils need to be amended with coarse sand or pumice for better drainage.
-
Crews will experience coarse terrain, pervasive dust, and a surface unlike anything here on Earth.
Noun
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The immigrant-threat frame offers a quicker villain and a simpler solution to persistent social problems such as violent crime.
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The new production will follow Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo from their comic book origins to becoming global pop culture icons, battling familiar villains along the way.
Cite this Entry
“Roughneck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughneck. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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