rough
having a coarse or uneven surface, as from projections, irregularities, or breaks; not smooth: rough, red hands;a rough road.
shaggy or coarse: a dog with a rough coat.
(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.
acting with or characterized by violence: Boxing is a rough sport.
characterized by unnecessary violence or infractions of the rules: It was a rough prize fight.
violently disturbed or agitated; turbulent, as water or the air: a rough sea.
having a violently irregular motion; uncomfortably or dangerously uneven: The plane had a rough flight in the storm.
stormy or tempestuous, as wind or weather.
sharp or harsh: a rough temper.
unmannerly or rude: his rough and churlish manner;They exchanged rough words.
disorderly or riotous: a rough mob.
difficult or unpleasant: to have a rough time of it.
harsh to the ear; grating or jarring, as sounds.
harsh to the taste; sharp or astringent: a rough wine.
coarse, as food.
lacking culture or refinement: a rough, countrified manner.
without refinements, luxuries, or ordinary comforts or conveniences: rough camping.
requiring exertion or strength rather than intelligence or skill: rough manual labor.
not elaborated, perfected, or corrected; unpolished, as language, verse, or style: a rough draft.
made or done without any attempt at exactness, completeness, or thoroughness; approximate or tentative: a rough guess.
crude, unwrought, nonprocessed, or unprepared: rough rice.
Phonetics. uttered with aspiration; having the sound of h; aspirated.
something that is rough, especially rough ground.
Golf. any part of the course bordering the fairway on which the grass, weeds, etc., are not trimmed.
the unpleasant or difficult part of anything.
anything in its crude or preliminary form, as a drawing.
Chiefly British. a rowdy; ruffian.
in a rough manner; roughly.
to make rough; roughen.
to give a beating to, manhandle, or subject to physical violence (often followed by up): The mob roughed up the speaker.
to subject to some rough, preliminary process of working or preparation (often followed by down, off, or out): to rough off boards.
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.
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.
to become rough, as a surface.
to behave roughly.
Idioms about rough
in the rough, in a rough, crude, or unfinished state: The country has an exciting potential, but civilization there is still in the rough.
rough it, to live without the customary comforts or conveniences; endure rugged conditions: We really roughed it on our fishing trip.
Origin of rough
1Other words for rough
Opposites for rough
Other words from rough
- roughly, adverb
- roughness, noun
- o·ver·rough, adjective
- o·ver·rough·ly, adverb
- o·ver·rough·ness, noun
Words that may be confused with rough
- rough , ruff
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use rough in a sentence
She acted on her nerves, was made up of roughnesses and thicknesses unknown hitherto to her fine, free-playing finger-tips.
The Tragic Muse | Henry JamesThe world goes on improving, advancing, making life more kindly and gracious, weeding out the roughnesses.
Helen Grant's Schooldays | Amanda M. DouglasThe increased discharge is due to the diminution of the friction of the pipe by removing the roughnesses due to oxidation.
The whole family was gathered, and all the little roughnesses of life were forgotten.
My Memoirs | Marguerite SteinheilThe small pieces of glass used, their varied thicknesses and roughnesses are causes producing such sparkle.
How France Built Her Cathedrals | Elizabeth Boyle O'Reilly
British Dictionary definitions for rough
/ (rʌf) /
(of a surface) not smooth; uneven or irregular
(of ground) covered with scrub, boulders, etc
denoting or taking place on uncultivated ground: rough grazing; rough shooting
shaggy or hairy
turbulent; agitated: a rough sea
(of the performance or motion of something) uneven; irregular: a rough engine
(of behaviour or character) rude, coarse, ill mannered, inconsiderate, or violent
harsh or sharp: rough words
informal severe or unpleasant: a rough lesson
(of work, a task, etc) requiring physical rather than mental effort
informal ill or physically upset: he felt rough after an evening of heavy drinking
unfair or unjust: rough luck
harsh or grating to the ear
harsh to the taste
without refinement, luxury, etc
not polished or perfected in any detail; rudimentary; not elaborate: rough workmanship; rough justice
not prepared or dressed: rough gemstones
(of a guess, estimate, etc) approximate
Australian informal (of a chance) not good
having the sound of h; aspirated
rough on informal, mainly British
severe towards
unfortunate for (a person)
the rough side of one's tongue harsh words; a reprimand, rebuke, or verbal attack
rough ground
a sketch or preliminary piece of artwork
an unfinished or crude state (esp in the phrase in the rough)
the rough golf the part of the course bordering the fairways where the grass is untrimmed
tennis squash badminton the side of a racket on which the binding strings form an uneven line
informal a rough or violent person; thug
the unpleasant side of something (esp in the phrase take the rough with the smooth)
in a rough manner; roughly
sleep rough to spend the night in the open; be without a home or without shelter
(tr) to make rough; roughen
(tr ; foll by out, in, etc) to prepare (a sketch, report, piece of work, etc) in preliminary form
rough it informal to live without the usual comforts or conveniences of life
Origin of rough
1Derived forms of rough
- roughness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with rough
In addition to the idioms beginning with rough
- rough and ready
- rough and tumble
- rough it
- rough on, be
- rough out
- rough up
also see:
- diamond in the rough
- ride roughshod over
- take the rough with the smooth
- when the going gets rough
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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