1
as in bitterness
a harsh or sharp quality
a roughness to the wine that should decrease with age
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rudeness
the quality or state of lacking refinement or good taste
the roughness of pioneer life is not glossed over in the documentary
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of roughness
The referee threw a flag on the play, calling a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Tart.
—
Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Speaking to the media Monday ahead of the Chiefs’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Reid was asked about the NFL rule that called for an unnecessary roughness penalty as opposed to an automatic suspension.
—Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2025
The referee threw a flag on the play, calling a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Tart.
—Skyler Caruso, People.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Tart was hit with an unnecessary roughness penalty.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 8 Sep. 2025
Still one of the NFL’s nastiest division rivalries, the game was full of skirmishes and a near-costly unnecessary roughness penalty late in the third against the Eagles that put the Cowboys in position to take the lead.
—Dan Gelston, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
With Boise State leading 7-3 and having just forced a 4th-and-long deep in South Florida territory, Banks threw down USF quarterback Byrum Brown, resulting in an unnecessary roughness penalty and a new set of downs that eventually led to a Bulls touchdown.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 1 Sep. 2025
So the authors created a digital shuttlecock model based on the commercially available Li-Ning D8 feather shuttlecock, treating it as a smooth and rigid object but ignoring surface roughness and feather porosity as variables.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 19 Aug. 2025
On that same drive, Belton was hit with a 15-yard, unnecessary roughness penalty that killed that drive.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Speaking to the media Monday ahead of the Chiefs’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Reid was asked about the NFL rule that called for an unnecessary roughness penalty as opposed to an automatic suspension.
—Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2025
The referee threw a flag on the play, calling a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Tart.
—Skyler Caruso, People.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Tart was hit with an unnecessary roughness penalty.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 8 Sep. 2025
Still one of the NFL’s nastiest division rivalries, the game was full of skirmishes and a near-costly unnecessary roughness penalty late in the third against the Eagles that put the Cowboys in position to take the lead.
—Dan Gelston, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
With Boise State leading 7-3 and having just forced a 4th-and-long deep in South Florida territory, Banks threw down USF quarterback Byrum Brown, resulting in an unnecessary roughness penalty and a new set of downs that eventually led to a Bulls touchdown.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 1 Sep. 2025
So the authors created a digital shuttlecock model based on the commercially available Li-Ning D8 feather shuttlecock, treating it as a smooth and rigid object but ignoring surface roughness and feather porosity as variables.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 19 Aug. 2025
On that same drive, Belton was hit with a 15-yard, unnecessary roughness penalty that killed that drive.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roughness
Noun
-
But her private letters to her sister Cassandra show a sharper and more astringent person, someone whose cruelty and bitterness were redeemed only by her jokes.—
Lucy Worsley
September 16,
Literary Hub,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The Bitter Mai Tai is a full-fledged neo classic, first bright with lime and rum, then deep with almond, and then—where a standard Mai Tai would fall away with a lingering malic zing—the Bitter Mai Tai rises in a bold third act, humming with bitterness and the banana-funk of the rum.—
Jason O'Bryan,
Robb Report,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
If senior figures display rudeness or disrespect, employees may assume that such behavior is acceptable, making selective enforcement seem arbitrary and undermining of trust.—
Andrew Binns,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
With nearly 400 responses recounting long waits for a check to outright rudeness, customers detailed what pushes them from their usual tipping habits to a complete cutoff.—
Darlin Tillery,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.—
Jarrett Renshaw,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
-
On the other hand, edge computing will gain, too.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Watch this historic matchup on panoramic, state-of-the-art digital screens with premium seating, specialty cocktails, craft beer, and upscale bites like crispy chicken wings, flatbreads, and signature burgers.—
Nasha Smith,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
-
That took a huge bite out of Fox’s total numbers.—
Peter Baugh,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
An alkaline compound, baking soda is a non-toxic cleaner with a coarseness that works wonders for scrubbing grime, removing difficult stains, and deodorizing stinky odors.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
-
The coarseness of your grounds is determined by the width of the space between the two grinding burrs.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The harshness of the language and the raw politicking shocked voters.—
Matt Klink,
Oc Register,
6 Sep. 2025
-
The bass doesn’t overpower vocals, and the treble avoids harshness.—
Prakhar Khanna,
Forbes.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The severity of droughts, flooding, all of that will get worse.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The severity of a sprain depends on how much of a ligament is torn.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Brain rot has become unavoidable, its grossness ubiquitous.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Roughness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughness. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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