rough

[ ruhf ]

adjective

, rough·er, rough·est.

1. having a coarse or uneven surface, as from projections, irregularities, or breaks; not smooth:

   rough, red hands;

   a rough road.

   Synonyms: craggy, bumpy, jagged, irregular

   Antonyms: regular, even, smooth

2. shaggy or coarse:

   a dog with a rough coat.

   Synonyms: bristly, hairy

3. (of an uninhabited region or large land area) steep or uneven and covered with high grass, brush, trees, stones, etc.:

   to hunt over rough country.

4. acting with or characterized by violence:

   Boxing is a rough sport.

5. characterized by unnecessary violence or infractions of the rules:

   It was a rough prize fight.

6. violently disturbed or agitated; turbulent, as water or the air:

   a rough sea.

7. having a violently irregular motion; uncomfortably or dangerously uneven:

   The plane had a rough flight in the storm.

8. stormy or tempestuous, as wind or weather.
9. sharp or harsh:

   a rough temper.

10. unmannerly or rude:

    his rough and churlish manner;

    They exchanged rough words.

11. disorderly or riotous:

    a rough mob.

12. difficult or unpleasant:

    to have a rough time of it.

13. harsh to the ear; grating or jarring, as sounds.

    Synonyms: raucous, cacophonous, noisy

14. harsh to the taste; sharp or astringent:

    a rough wine.

15. coarse, as food.
16. lacking culture or refinement:

    a rough, countrified manner.

    Synonyms: unpolished, impolite, rude, uncivil

17. without refinements, luxuries, or ordinary comforts or conveniences:

    rough camping.

18. requiring exertion or strength rather than intelligence or skill:

    rough manual labor.

19. not elaborated, perfected, or corrected; unpolished, as language, verse, or style:

    a rough draft.

20. made or done without any attempt at exactness, completeness, or thoroughness; approximate or tentative:

    a rough guess.

21. crude, unwrought, nonprocessed, or unprepared:

    rough rice.

22. Phonetics. uttered with aspiration; having the sound of h; aspirated.

noun

1. something that is rough, especially rough ground.
2. Golf. any part of the course bordering the fairway on which the grass, weeds, etc., are not trimmed.
3. the unpleasant or difficult part of anything.
4. anything in its crude or preliminary form, as a drawing.
5. Chiefly British. a rowdy; ruffian.

adverb

1. in a rough manner; roughly.

verb (used with object)

, roughed, rough·ing.

1. to make rough; roughen.
2. to give a beating to, manhandle, or subject to physical violence (often followed by up ):

   The mob roughed up the speaker.

3. to subject to some rough, preliminary process of working or preparation (often followed by down, off, or out ):

   to rough off boards.

4. to sketch roughly or in outline (often followed by in or out ):

   to rough out a diagram;

   to rough in the conversation of a novel.

5. Sports. to subject (a player on the opposing team) to unnecessary physical abuse, as in blocking or tackling:

   The team was penalized 15 yards for roughing the kicker.

verb (used without object)

, roughed, rough·ing.

1. to become rough, as a surface.
2. to behave roughly.

rough

/ rʌf /

adjective

1. (of a surface) not smooth; uneven or irregular
2. (of ground) covered with scrub, boulders, etc
3. denoting or taking place on uncultivated ground

   rough grazing

   rough shooting

4. shaggy or hairy
5. turbulent; agitated

   a rough sea

6. (of the performance or motion of something) uneven; irregular

   a rough engine

7. (of behaviour or character) rude, coarse, ill mannered, inconsiderate, or violent
8. harsh or sharp

   rough words

9. informal.
   severe or unpleasant

   a rough lesson

10. (of work, a task, etc) requiring physical rather than mental effort
11. informal.
    ill or physically upset

    he felt rough after an evening of heavy drinking

12. unfair or unjust

    rough luck

13. harsh or grating to the ear
14. harsh to the taste
15. without refinement, luxury, etc
16. not polished or perfected in any detail; rudimentary; not elaborate

    rough workmanship

    rough justice

17. not prepared or dressed

    rough gemstones

18. (of a guess, estimate, etc) approximate
19. informal.
    (of a chance) not good
20. having the sound of h ; aspirated
21. rough on informal.
    1. severe towards
    2. unfortunate for (a person)
22. the rough side of one's tongue
    harsh words; a reprimand, rebuke, or verbal attack

noun

1. rough ground
2. a sketch or preliminary piece of artwork
3. an unfinished or crude state (esp in the phrase in the rough )
4. the rough
   golf the part of the course bordering the fairways where the grass is untrimmed
5. tennis squash badminton the side of a racket on which the binding strings form an uneven line
6. informal.
   a rough or violent person; thug
7. the unpleasant side of something (esp in the phrase take the rough with the smooth )

adverb

1. in a rough manner; roughly
2. sleep rough
   to spend the night in the open; be without a home or without shelter

verb

1. tr to make rough; roughen
2. tr; foll by out, in, etc to prepare (a sketch, report, piece of work, etc) in preliminary form
3. rough it informal.
   to live without the usual comforts or conveniences of life

Derived Forms

• ˈroughness, noun

Other Words From

• roughly adverb
• roughness noun
• over·rough adjective
• over·roughly adverb
• over·roughness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rough¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English (adjective and noun); Old English rūh (adjective); cognate with Dutch ruig, German rauh

Word History and Origins

Origin of rough¹

Old English rūh ; related to Old Norse ruksa , Middle Dutch rūge, rūwe , German rauh

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in the rough, in a rough, crude, or unfinished state:

   The country has an exciting potential, but civilization there is still in the rough.

2. rough it, to live without the customary comforts or conveniences; endure rugged conditions:

   We really roughed it on our fishing trip.

More idioms and phrases containing rough

• diamond in the rough
• ride roughshod over
• take the rough with the smooth
• when the going gets rough

Example Sentences

The ship was conducting a survey of waters off the island of Upolu when it struck a reef and caught fire during a bout of rough and windy weather.

From BBC

Khalife spent his first night on the run sleeping rough in Richmond Park.

From BBC

The middle of this season, he admits, “was rough.”

From Los Angeles Times

He said he was told the young man nearly collapsed as he was placed into the ambulance and was in "rough shape".

From BBC

Mahmoud is a cheeky teenager who beams the biggest of smiles even though he lost his front teeth in the rough and tumble of kids’ play.

From BBC

Related Words

• coarse
• cruel
• hard
• harsh
• nasty
• raw
• tough
• unpleasant
• unpolished
• violent