Rough - Dictionary Of English

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rough [links] UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈrʌf/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/rʌf/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(ruf ) ⓘ One or more forum threads is an exact match of your searched term in Spanish | in French | English synonyms | English Collocations | English Usage | Conjugator | in context | images Inflections of 'rough' (adj): rougheradj comparative roughestadj superlative WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025rough /rʌf/USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est, n., adv., v. adj.
  1. having a coarse or uneven surface; not smooth:rough, worn skin.
  2. steep or uneven and covered with high grass, etc.; wild:rough country.
  3. acting with or marked by violence:Hockey is a rough sport.
  4. lacking in gentleness, care, or consideration:rough handling.
  5. crude, rude, or lacking culture:a rough peasant.
  6. difficult or unpleasant:a rough year for consumers.
  7. dangerous because of violence or crime:He came from a rough neighborhood.
  8. not perfected; unpolished:a rough draft.
  9. approximate; not exact:a rough estimate.
n. [uncountable]
  1. something rough, esp. ground.
  2. Sportpart of a golf course bordering the fairway, on which the grass, weeds, etc., are not trimmed:The ball landed in the rough.
  3. anything in its unfinished or early form, as a drawing:drawn in the rough.
adv.
  1. in a rough manner; roughly:I'm warning you, that mob plays rough.
v.
  1. rough up, to treat (someone) with physical violence: [~ + up + object]The muggers roughed up their victim.[~ + object + up]They always rough their victims up.
  2. to make or shape roughly or in outline: [~ + in + object]The designers roughed in the placement of the windows.[~ + out + object]She roughed out a few plans.
Idioms
  1. Idioms rough it, [Informal.]to live without comforts or conveniences:roughed it in the bush for two years.
rough•ness, n. [uncountable] WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025rough (ruf ),USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est, n., adv., v. adj.
  1. having a coarse or uneven surface, as from projections, irregularities, or breaks; not smooth:rough, red hands; a rough road.
  2. shaggy or coarse:a dog with a rough coat.
  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.
  14. harsh to the taste; sharp or astringent:a rough wine.
  15. coarse, as food.
  16. lacking culture or refinement:a rough, countrified manner.
  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. Phoneticsuttered with aspiration; having the sound of h; aspirated.
n.
  1. something that is rough, esp. rough ground.
  2. Sport[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. British Terms[Chiefly Brit.]a rowdy; ruffian.
  6. in the rough, in a rough, crude, or unfinished state:The country has an exciting potential, but civilization there is still in the rough.
adv.
  1. in a rough manner; roughly.
v.t.
  1. to make rough; roughen.
  2. to give a beating to, manhandle, or subject to physical violence (often fol. by up):The mob roughed up the speaker.
  3. to subject to some rough, preliminary process of working or preparation (often fol. by down, off, or out):to rough off boards.
  4. to sketch roughly or in outline (often fol. by in or out):to rough out a diagram; to rough in the conversation of a novel.
  5. Sportto 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.
v.i.
  1. to become rough, as a surface.
  2. to behave roughly.
  3. rough it, to live without the customary comforts or conveniences; endure rugged conditions:We really roughed it on our fishing trip.
  • bef. 1000; Middle English (adjective, adjectival and noun, nominal); Old English rūh (adjective, adjectival); cognate with Dutch ruig, German rauh
rough′ly, adv. rough′ness, n.
    1. irregular, jagged, bumpy, craggy. 2. hairy, bristly. 13. noisy, cacophonous, raucous. 16. impolite, uncivil, unpolished, rude.
    1. smooth, even, regular.
 Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: rough /rʌf/ adj
  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 a late night
  12. unfair or unjust: rough luck
  13. harsh or grating to the ear
  14. without refinement, luxury, etc
  15. not polished or perfected in any detail; rudimentary; not elaborate: rough workmanship, rough justice
  16. not prepared or dressed: rough gemstones
  17. (of a guess, estimate, etc) approximate
  18. having the sound of h; aspirated
  19. rough on ⇒ informal chiefly Brit
    • severe towards
    • unfortunate for (a person)
  20. the rough side of one's tongue ⇒ harsh words; a reprimand, rebuke, or verbal attack
 n
  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 ⇒ the part of the course bordering the fairways where the grass is untrimmed
  5. informal a rough or violent person; thug
  6. the unpleasant side of something (esp in the phrase take the rough with the smooth)
 adv
  1. in a rough manner; roughly
  2. sleep rough ⇒ to spend the night in the open; be without a home or without shelter
 vb
  1. (transitive) to make rough; roughen
  2. (tr; followed 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
Etymology: Old English rūh; related to Old Norse ruksa, Middle Dutch rūge, rūwe, German rauhˈroughness n 'rough' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations): abrasive - absolute - Airedale - anchusa - approximate - approximation - asperity - assonance - ATV - autocross - baroque - bearish - blackbutt - BMX - boules - box - Boxer - breathing - broken - bronco - brusque - brut - bumpy - burr - bush - bush carpenter - cairn - calm - cardboard city - Chelsea tractor - Cheviot - choppy - coarse - cut up - dab - deckle edge - diffuser - dirt bike - dogfight - dressing - emery board - erudite - exasperate - fairway - finish - frosting - -ful - galingale - garage - garage band In Lists: Top 2000 English words, Tactile textures, Tactile textures, more...Synonyms: coarse, bumpy, jagged, gritty, broken, more...Collocations: the [ball, golf ball, shot] landed in the rough, roughed out a [plan, design, shape], rough [skin, stubble, scales, patches], more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "rough" in the title:

''Write out'' + ''rough draft'' in American English 'Cause she won't be taking anything good. Because they'll be doing rough and tumble stuff 'Some fruit is rough.' or 'Some fruits are rough.' ? "(A) rough schematics for such a device is/are included" a bit of rough [British-only?] A carpet impervious to rough treatment. a few rough edges a kind of rough usage, ill befitting the wounds A little rough around the edges [a person] A little rough around the edges is all [person] a long passage of rough arches made of rock a lukewarm, nervous, rough hand A "rattling and rough" sound? a rough age for kids A rough couple of days a rough estimate/estimation a rough estimate/estimation a rough few days a rough little path a rough piece of work a <rough> sound/voice a rough-neck A secret that is rough and more intimate for it A useful, if somewhat rough, proxy anyone who meets a certain rough criteria... approximate/rough "bad copy" instead of "rough copy" Biggles Takes it rough British "sleep rough" can play rough more...Visit the English Only Forum.Help WordReference: Ask in the forums yourself. Look up "rough" at Merriam-Webster Look up "rough" at dictionary.com
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