What does "rogue" mean?
A scoundrel, rascal or unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable person.
Rogue
/ˈɹəʊɡ/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A scoundrel, rascal or unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable person.
- Grammar: rogue is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: rascal, adventurer, bad boy, balker.
- Useful contrasts: controlled, domesticated animal, honest.
- Usage evidence: In the late 20th century, Yugoslavia was considered a rogue state by the United States.
How to use "rogue"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "rogue" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "rogue" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "rogue" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "rogue" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "rogue" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "rascal" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "rogue", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A scoundrel, rascal or unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable person.
"And meet time it was, when yon usher, vinegar-faced rogue that he is, began to inquire what popish trangam you were wearing […]"
- 2 a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel wordnet
- 3 A mischievous scamp.
"Ah, you sweet little rogue, you!"
- 4 A vagrant.
- 5 Malware that deceitfully presents itself as antispyware.
"An entry in the Microsoft Malware Protection Center's Threat Research & Response Blog shows that rogue AV, also known as scareware, is ruling the malware roost, as 6 top of the 10 malicious programs removed by the MSRT (Malicious Software Removal Tool) in the US in October were 'rogues'."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 An aggressive animal separate from the herd, especially an elephant.
"If he is a rogue, and there's any truth to territoriality at all, we got a good chance of spotting him between Cape Scott and South Beach."
- 7 A plant that shows some undesirable variation.
"2000 Carol Deppe, Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties, Totnes: Chelsea Green Pub. Maintaining varieties also requires selection, however. It's usually referred to as culling or roguing. ...we examine the [plant] population and eliminate the occasional rogue."
- 8 A character class focusing on stealthy conduct.
Verb
- 1 To cull; to destroy plants not meeting a required standard, especially when saving seed, rogue or unwanted plants are removed before pollination.
"2000 Carol Deppe, Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties, Totnes: Chelsea Green Pub. Maintaining varieties also requires selection, however. It's usually referred to as culling or roguing. ...we examine the [plant] population and eliminate the occasional rogue."
- 2 To cheat. dated, transitive
"And then to think that Mark should have rogued me of five shiners! He was clever—that's a fact."
- 3 To give the name or designation of rogue to; to decry. obsolete
"he Atheists may endeavour to rogue and ridicule all incorporeal Substance"
- 4 To wander; to play the vagabond; to play knavish tricks. intransitive, obsolete
"if hee be but once so taken idlely roguing"
Adjective
- 1 Vicious and solitary.
"Mosquito. One lone rogue mosquito."
- 2 Large, destructive and unpredictable. broadly
- 3 Deceitful, unprincipled. broadly
"In the minds of Republican hard-liners, the "Silent Majority" of Americans who had elected the President, and even Nixon's two Democrat predecessors, China was a gigantic nuke-wielding rogue state prepared to overrun the free world at any moment."
- 4 Mischievous, unpredictable.
"Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"In the late 20th century, Yugoslavia was considered a rogue state by the United States."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "rogue"?
Common synonyms include: rascal, adventurer, bad boy, balker, balky horse, bastard.
How do you use "rogue" in a sentence?
In the late 20th century, Yugoslavia was considered a rogue state by the United States.
How do you pronounce "rogue"?
Pronounced /ˈɹəʊɡ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Uncertain. From either: * Earlier English roger (“a begging vagabond who pretends to be a poor scholar from Oxford or Cambridge”), possibly from Latin rogō (“I ask”). * Middle French rogue (“arrogant, haughty”), from Old Northern French rogre (“aggressive”), from Old Norse hrokr (“excess, exuberance”), for which see Icelandic hroki (“arrogance”), though OED does not document this. * Celtic; see Breton rog (“haughty”).
Etymology 2
English surname, originally a nickname derived from the adjective. See rogue.