scabrous

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective scabrous contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of scabrous are harsh, rough, rugged, and uneven. While all these words mean "not smooth or even," scabrous implies scaliness or prickliness of surface.

a scabrous leaf

Where would harsh be a reasonable alternative to scabrous?

The meanings of harsh and scabrous largely overlap; however, harsh implies a surface or texture distinctly unpleasant to the touch.

a harsh fabric that chafes the skin

When would rough be a good substitute for scabrous?

While in some cases nearly identical to scabrous, rough implies points, bristles, ridges, or projections on the surface.

a rough wooden board

When could rugged be used to replace scabrous?

While the synonyms rugged and scabrous are close in meaning, rugged implies irregularity or roughness of land surface and connotes difficulty of travel.

a rugged landscape

When is it sensible to use uneven instead of scabrous?

The words uneven and scabrous can be used in similar contexts, but uneven implies a lack of uniformity in height, breadth, or quality.

an old house with uneven floors

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 scabrous Is this Scott redoing American Gangster as a grand Italian tragedy, or scabrous comedy about a family undone by their ineptitude and excess? Scott Tobias, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2024 Jacobs wrote the script with these three actors in mind, which was perhaps shocking news to each of them, who play scabrous women who locate the worst characteristics of each other and then blow them up into throwdown fights. Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 18 Sep. 2024 At nearly three hours, the anthology film was divisive: Some hailed its scabrous take on human nature as brilliant, and others derided it as bloated. Matt Donnelly, Variety, 21 May 2024 Malcolm is the pressure-release valve in Baumbach's scabrous follow-up to 2005's The Squid and the Whale, and one of many points of contention between Margot and Pauline. Erik Adams, EW.com, 18 July 2023 See All Example Sentences for scabrous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scabrous
Adjective
  • Common Challenges and Solutions Botrytis blight and mildew can be troublesome for peonies thanks to the heat and humidity in the South.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Radon gas, a decay product of elements formed billions of years ago during the solar system’s birth, is especially troublesome.
    Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Coming to terms with colonial-era collaboration would pose one of the most vexing challenges in a liberated Korea.
    Kornel Chang September 19, Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
  • In the immediate aftermath of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s murder, one of the most vexing things occluding the facts of what happened was a general illiteracy regarding the online culture that had engulfed the alleged killer — its memes and codes and ideologies.
    Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Decades later, he was declared a vexatious litigant by the High Court, Federal Court and Queensland Supreme Court, a label that barred him from filing any more claims.
    Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2025
  • The next morning, there were two vexatious problems.
    Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 27 July 2025
Adjective
  • Originally bred in Germany to hunt badgers, these small canines are energetic, bold and stubborn.
    Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Both options meant navigating some stubborn supporters.
    Kevin Coulson, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Then there were the ghoulish figures of revolutionary adventurers, the Mexican painter with two pistols in his belt, the men who were carving themselves careers out of these troublous times.
    John Dos Passos, National Review, 28 Sep. 2020
Adjective
  • So too is the departure of Pete DeBoer in favor of the offensively worrisome Glen Gulutzan.
    The Athletic NHL, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The significant cooldown in job creation was worrisome enough to prompt Federal Reserve officials to cut interest rates in September.
    Michael Sasso, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Each human cell contains about two meters of DNA tightly folded in complex 3D structures.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2025
  • To achieve this goal, the bank began strategically attracting ultrarich clients and offering them complex financial services.
    Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • This includes courses such as the notoriously recondite organic chemistry as well as biology, general chemistry, and physics.
    Richard Menger MD MPA, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
  • Social Security’s internal workings are so recondite and poorly understood by average voters that numerous possible ways of imposing benefit cuts or otherwise harming the program are hiding in plain sight.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 26 Nov. 2024

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Scabrous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scabrous. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!