rogue

[ rohg ]
See synonyms for rogue on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. no longer obedient, belonging, or accepted and hence not controllable or answerable; renegade: They described him as a rogue cop who had abandoned his training.

  2. dangerous and unpredictable: They were trapped in the house by a rogue snowstorm.

  1. of or noting a nation or state that defies international treaties, laws, etc.: The blame is placed on rogue states that threaten world peace.

  2. (of an animal) having an abnormally violent or unpredictable disposition: She helped trap a rogue tiger terrorizing the village.

noun
  1. a dishonest, untrustworthy person; scoundrel: We were traveling in secret to avoid running into rogues and thieves.

  2. a playfully mischievous person; scamp: The youngest boys are little rogues.

  1. Archaic. a tramp or vagabond.

  2. an animal having an abnormally violent or unpredictable disposition.

  3. Biology. a usually inferior organism, especially a plant, varying markedly from the normal.

verb (used with object),rogued, ro·guing.
    • to uproot or destroy (plants that do not conform to a desired standard):Usually, roguing the diseased plants is sufficient to minimize further spread.

    • to perform this operation upon: to rogue a field.

  1. to cheat.

verb (used without object),rogued, ro·guing.
  1. to live or act as a scoundrel, vagabond, or scamp.

Idioms about rogue

  1. go rogue, to stop being obedient or predictable; to behave in a way that is not allowed or expected: Giving people the tools they need to do their jobs greatly reduces the risk of employees going rogue and using unauthorized services.To make more money, the agent went rogue and sold his services to the highest bidder.

Origin of rogue

1
First recorded in 1555–65; origin uncertain, apparently short for obsolete roger “begging vagabond,” originally thieves' jargon

synonym study For rogue

5. See knave.

Other words for rogue

Other words from rogue

  • out·rogue, verb (used with object), out·rogued, out·ro·guing.

Words that may be confused with rogue

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rogue in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rogue

rogue

/ (rəʊɡ) /


noun
  1. a dishonest or unprincipled person, esp a man; rascal; scoundrel

  2. often jocular a mischievous or wayward person, often a child; scamp

  1. a crop plant which is inferior, diseased, or of a different, unwanted variety

    • any inferior or defective specimen

    • (as modifier): rogue heroin

  2. archaic a vagrant

    • an animal of vicious character that has separated from the main herd and leads a solitary life

    • (as modifier): a rogue elephant

verb
    • (tr) to rid (a field or crop) of plants that are inferior, diseased, or of an unwanted variety

    • to identify and remove such plants

Origin of rogue

1
C16: of unknown origin; perhaps related to Latin rogāre to beg

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