rough

[ruhf]

adjective

rougher, roughest 

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: impolite, rude, unpolished, 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, roughing 

1. to make rough; roughen.

2. to give a beating to, manhandle, or subject to physical violence (often followed byup ).

   The mob roughed up the speaker.

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

   to rough off boards.

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

   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, roughing 

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. informal

    1. severe towards

    2. unfortunate for (a person)

22. 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. 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. 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. informal,  to live without the usual comforts or conveniences of life

Other Word Forms

• roughness noun
• roughly adverb
• overrough adjective
• overroughly adverb
• overroughness 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 region's rough and mountainous terrain continues to hamper rescue and disaster relief operations, the government said.

From BBC

It's going to be a rough ride to 26 November.

From BBC

He turned to the group during a rough period after his wife died.

From Los Angeles Times

The terrain was so rough in one part of the Mazar valley that one helicopter failed to land after three attempts, one Taliban source said.

From BBC

The Parkhead club once had a bit of a Midas Touch when it came to finding rough diamonds, polishing them up and then selling them on.

From BBC

Related Words

• coarse 
• cruel 
• hard 
• harsh 
• nasty 
• raw 
• tough 
• unpleasant 
• unpolished www.thesaurus.com
• violent