rough

1 of 4

adjective

ˈrəf

rougher; roughest

Synonyms of rough next

: marked by inequalities, ridges, or projections on the surface : coarse

: covered with or made up of coarse and often shaggy hair

rough-coated collie

compare smooth, wirehaired

c(1)

: having a broken, uneven, or bumpy surface

rough terrain

(2)

: difficult to travel through or penetrate : wild

into the rough woods—

P. B. Shelley

: turbulent, tempestuous

rough seas

b(1)

: characterized by harshness, violence, or force

(2)

: presenting a challenge : difficult

rough to deal with—

R. M. McAlmon

: coarse or rugged in character or appearance: such as

: harsh to the ear

: crude in style or expression

: indelicate

: marked by a lack of refinement or grace : uncouth

: crude, unfinished

rough carpentry

: executed or ventured hastily, tentatively, or imperfectly

a rough draft

rough estimate

also : approximate

a rough idea

roughish

ˈrə-fish

adjective

roughness

ˈrəf-nəs

noun

rough

2 of 4

adverb

: roughly sense 1

British : without usual conveniences

especially : without proper shelter

become homeless and have to sleep rough —

London Times

rough

3 of 4

noun

: uneven ground covered with high grass, brush, and stones

specifically : such ground bordering a golf fairway

: the rugged or disagreeable side or aspect

hiking-camping admirers of nature in the rough—

Eleanor Stirling

: something in a crude, unfinished, or preliminary state

: broad outline : general terms

the question … has been discussed in rough—

Manchester Guardian Weekly

: a hasty preliminary drawing or layout

: rowdy

rough

4 of 4

verb

roughed; roughing; roughs

transitive verb

: roughen

: to subject to abuse : manhandle, beat

—usually used with up

: to subject to unnecessary and intentional violence in a sport

a penalty for roughing the passer

: shell sense 3

—used with up

was roughed up for six runs

: to calk or otherwise roughen (a horse's shoes) to prevent slipping

: to shape, make, or dress in a rough or preliminary way

: to indicate the chief lines of

rough out the structure of a building

rougher noun

Phrases

rough it

: to live under harsh or primitive conditions

Choose the Right Synonym for rough

rough, harsh, uneven, rugged, scabrous mean not smooth or even.

rough implies points, bristles, ridges, or projections on the surface.

a rough wooden board

harsh implies a surface or texture distinctly unpleasant to the touch.

a harsh fabric that chafes the skin

uneven implies a lack of uniformity in height, breadth, or quality.

an old house with uneven floors

rugged implies irregularity or roughness of land surface and connotes difficulty of travel.

a rugged landscape

scabrous implies scaliness or prickliness of surface.

a scabrous leaf

synonyms see in addition rude

Example Sentences

Adjective He trimmed the rough edge of the paper. We traveled over rough dirt roads. They hiked through rough terrain. We were a bit shaken from the plane's rough landing. He went through a rough patch after his divorce. They've hit a few rough spots in their marriage. Despite a rough start, the team won more games this season than last. Adverb The engine is running a little rough. Life has been treating her pretty rough. He plays rough with the dog. people living rough on the streets Noun He hit his drive into the rough. He showed me a few roughs of the new building. Verb He was called for roughing the kicker. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The new logo had a rough first 24 hours on the internet, where design professionals and everyday New Yorkers alike immediately started piling on criticism. —

Molly Enking, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Mar. 2023 Ferry service was disrupted because conditions were too rough. —

Martha Mendoza, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Mar. 2023 But aside from being rough on your delicate strands, hitting the pillow with damp hair puts you at risk of developing skin infections, primarily on your scalp. —

Chloé Valentine Toscano, Allure, 22 Mar. 2023 The inflation of the Biden era has been rough on workers across the U.S. economy and that includes the employees of the New York Times. —

James Freeman, WSJ, 20 Mar. 2023 Even when the swell is small, the water here can be rough. —

Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 18 Mar. 2023 Despite the region’s rebound from COVID and reputation for resiliency, there are still questions about how rough the road will be ahead. —

David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 17 Mar. 2023 Tony Bennett’s teams are typically disciplined and smart, so to lose because of an extremely dumb pass is rough. —

Lindsay Schnell, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2023 Some cast farther, some are more abrasion resistant, some are rough, and some are smooth. —

Jerry Audet, Field & Stream, 13 Mar. 2023

Adverb

His own house in Fire Island Pines, built in 1961, was a single rectangle of about 600 square feet constructed from rough-cut cedar. —

Fred A. Bernstein, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2022 What is verifiably true is that, unlike the hulking, rough-faced cast iron we’re used to today, these elder vessels are almost unbearably wonderful, made from a thinner cast and consequently lighter weight, with surfaces that are satin smooth. —

Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2021 Stroud contacted Willis shortly after a taxidermist rough-scored the incredible rack on that pleasant fall afternoon. —

Matt Williams, Dallas News, 2 Oct. 2021 Frank Jay Gould, Jay's youngest son, become known for his love of both smooth- and rough-coated St. Bernard's. —

Emily Leiker, USA TODAY, 11 June 2021 In another demonstration of the variability of perception, the authors showed that when placed next to an elderly woman or a child, pit bulls were labeled more positively, while showing them next to a rough-looking male hurt their credibility. —

Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 23 Mar. 2016 Centineo plays Owen with a similar off-kilter, rough-around-the-edges appeal. —

Nojan Aminosharei, Men's Health, 21 Dec. 2022 Corabi had the album’s rough-hewn artwork patterned after the essential Aerosmith concert album. —

Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 5 Oct. 2022 The top is asymmetric and rough-edged, not to mention rent down the center. —

Maile Pingel, WSJ, 28 Sep. 2022

Noun

The woman artist, so often brought in as much as trinket as talent, has been right there, a diamond in the sexist musical rough all along. —

Danyel Smith, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2023 The resulting finished stones range in size from 25.06 to 79.35 carats; in total, 67 diamonds came from the original rough. —

Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 21 Aug. 2022 Smith went from the right rough on the opening hole to a back bunker and missed a 12-foot par putt. —

Dallas News, 7 Jan. 2022 Then, on the Las Colinas Course 14th hole, TFA’s No. 1 player, Mi Li, plugged her tee shot in the rough of the tough par 4. —

Steve Gorches, Orlando Sentinel, 12 Nov. 2022 Part of the cache cut from the Lesotho Legend, a 910-carat rough, the trio of stones is free of inclusions and exhibits remarkable brilliance. —

Tanya Dukes, ELLE Decor, 26 Sep. 2022 Marx’s drive landed beneath a tree in the right rough. —

San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 July 2022 Champ managed to chip out onto the primary rough, then scoot up the fairway. —

BostonGlobe.com, 26 July 2021 Champ managed to chip out onto the primary rough, then scoot up the fairway. —

BostonGlobe.com, 26 July 2021

Verb

For: Eco-conscious men looking for a thorough clean that won’t rough their skin up. —

Dallas News, 30 Nov. 2022 Has the fraternity gotten so chummy that one team or one player can’t rough up the feelings of another player, another team? —

Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 Dec. 2022 To start, Pinto recommends using a nail buffer to rough up the surface of the polish until the shine is completely gone. —

Sydney Wingfield, Glamour, 9 Dec. 2022 Instead, Lukashenko’s thuggish enforcers at GUBOPiK have a green light to rough up activists and target their families. —

Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2022 Again, having been shut out of spring practice, this is our first chance to rough out some answers to those questions. —

Zach Osterman, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Aug. 2022 Hydro Flask Outdoor Kitchen Collection $20 – $75 THE PROMISE: Kitchenware that’s ready to rough it, but sleek enough for fancy backyard cookouts. —

Outside Online, 14 Aug. 2020 Last season, when the going to rough against the Bucks in the playoffs, the Heat wilted. —

Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2022 Glamping is for those who don’t want to rough it too much but do want a close-to-camping-outdoors experience. —

Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 2 June 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rough.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Old English rūh; akin to Old High German rūh rough, Lithuanian raukas wrinkle

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1728, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of rough was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Phrases Containing rough

Cite this Entry

Style

“Rough.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rough. Accessed 28 Mar. 2023.

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Kids Definition

rough

1 of 4 adjective

ˈrəf

: having an uneven surface : not smooth

: covered with or made up of coarse and often shaggy hair or bristles

a rough-coated terrier

: not calm

rough seas

: being harsh or violent

rough treatment

: difficult to take or deal with

we've had some rough times

: harsh to the ear

: coarse or rugged in nature or look

: not complete or exact

a rough draft

rough estimate

also : approximate entry 1

this will give you a rough idea of the house

roughish

ˈrəf-ish

adjective

roughly adverb

roughness noun

rough

2 of 4 noun

: uneven ground covered with high grass, brush, and stones

: the rugged or unpleasant part of something

nature in the rough

: something in a crude or unfinished state

also : such a state

a diamond in the rough

rough

3 of 4 adverb

: in a rough way : not smoothly

the engine idled rough, but ran smoothly at high speed

rough

4 of 4 verb

: roughen

: to handle roughly : beat

roughed up by hoodlums

: to shape or make in a rough way

rough out a plan

Medical Definition

rough

adjective

ˈrəf

: having a broken, uneven, or bumpy surface

specifically : forming or being rough colonies usually made up of organisms that form chains or filaments and tend to marked decrease in capsule formation and virulence

—used of dissociated strains of bacteria compare smooth