Rough

/ɹʌf/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: The unmowed part of a golf course.
  • Grammar: rough is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: approximate, crude, harsh, abrasive.
  • Useful contrasts: even, flat, nonabrasive.
  • Usage evidence: The sea got rough, so that we had to give up fishing.

How to use "rough"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "rough" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. 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 "rough" 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 "rough" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "rough" 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 "rough" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang 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 "approximate" 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 "rough", 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. 1
    The unmowed part of a golf course.
  2. 2
    the part of a golf course bordering the fairway where the grass is not cut short wordnet
  3. 3
    A rude fellow; a coarse bully; a rowdy.

    "In Wellington Street my brother met a couple of sturdy roughs, who had just rushed out of Fleet Street with still wet newspapers and staring placards. "Dreadful catastrophe!" they bawled one to the other down Wellington Street. "Fighting at Weybridge!""

  4. 4
    A scuffed and roughened area of the pitch, where the bowler's feet fall, used as a target by spin bowlers because of its unpredictable bounce.
  5. 5
    The raw material from which faceted or cabochon gems are created.
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    A quick sketch, similar to a thumbnail but larger and more detailed, used for artistic brainstorming.
  2. 7
    Boisterous weather. obsolete

    "In calms you fish; in roughs use songs and dances."

  3. 8
    A piece inserted in a horseshoe to keep the animal from slipping.
Verb
  1. 1
    To create in an approximate form.

    "Rough in the shape first, then polish the details."

  2. 2
    prepare in preliminary or sketchy form wordnet
  3. 3
    To break the rules by being excessively violent. intransitive

    "[…] roughing is not a part of the sport, and will not be tolerated. Referees will not permit unfair practices that may cause injury to a contestant, and are held strictly responsible for enforcing these rules."

  4. 4
    To commit the offense of roughing, i.e. to punch another player.
  5. 5
    To render rough; to roughen.
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    To break in (a horse, etc.), especially for military purposes.

    "To Rough Horses, a word in familiar use among the dragoons to signify the act of breaking in horses, so as to adapt them to military purposes."

  2. 7
    To endure primitive conditions.

    "to rough it"

  3. 8
    To roughen a horse's shoes to keep the animal from slipping. transitive
Adjective
  1. 1
    Not smooth; uneven.

    "rough hands"

  2. 2
    Approximate; hasty or careless; not finished.

    "a rough copy"

  3. 3
    Turbulent.

    "rough sea"

  4. 4
    Difficult; trying.

    "Being a teenager nowadays can be rough."

  5. 5
    Crude; unrefined.

    "His manners are a bit rough, but he means well."

Show 9 more definitions
  1. 6
    Worn; shabby; weather-beaten.
  2. 7
    Having socio-economic problems, hence possibly dangerous.

    "the rough bit of town"

  3. 8
    Violent; not careful or subtle.

    "rough words"

  4. 9
    Loud and hoarse; offensive to the ear; harsh; grating.

    "a rough tone"

  5. 10
    Not polished; uncut.

    "a rough diamond"

  6. 11
    Harsh-tasting.

    "rough wine"

  7. 12
    Somewhat ill; sick; in poor condition. Ireland, UK, colloquial, slang
  8. 13
    Unwell due to alcohol; hungover. Ireland, UK, colloquial, slang
  9. 14
    Of or relating to the rough breathing in the Greek language.
Adjective
  1. 1
    ready and able to resort to force or violence wordnet
  2. 2
    unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound wordnet
  3. 3
    violently agitated and turbulent wordnet
  4. 4
    not shaped by cutting or trimming wordnet
  5. 5
    full of hardship or trials wordnet
Show 9 more definitions
  1. 6
    not quite exact or correct wordnet
  2. 7
    unkind or cruel or uncivil wordnet
  3. 8
    unpleasantly stern wordnet
  4. 9
    not perfected wordnet
  5. 10
    (of persons or behavior) lacking refinement or finesse wordnet
  6. 11
    not carefully or expertly made wordnet
  7. 12
    having or caused by an irregular surface wordnet
  8. 13
    causing or characterized by jolts and irregular movements wordnet
  9. 14
    of the margin of a leaf shape; having the edge cut or fringed or scalloped wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    In a rough manner; rudely; roughly.

    "I will warrant they prove such roaring boys as I knew when I served under Lumford and Goring, [...] —sleeping rough on the trenches, and dying stubbornly in their boats. Ah! those merry days are gone."

Adverb
  1. 1
    with rough motion as over a rough surface wordnet
  2. 2
    with roughness or violence (‘rough’ is an informal variant for ‘roughly’) wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
approximatecrudeharshabrasiveabrasiveabrasive tone

Example

"The sea got rough, so that we had to give up fishing."

Common questions

What does "rough" mean?

The unmowed part of a golf course.

What is a synonym for "rough"?

Common synonyms include: approximate, crude, harsh, abrasive, abrasive, abrasive tone.

How do you use "rough" in a sentence?

The sea got rough, so that we had to give up fishing.

How do you pronounce "rough"?

Pronounced /ɹʌf/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English rough, roughe, roȝe, row, rou, ru, ruȝ, ruh, from Old English rūg, rūh, from Proto-Germanic *rūhaz. Cognate with Scots ruch, rouch (“rough”), Saterland Frisian ruuch, rouch (“rough”), West Frisian rûch (“rough”), Low German ruuch (“rough”), Dutch ruig (“rough”), German rau(h) (“rough”), Danish ru (“uneven on the surface, "rough", "rugged"”).

Etymology 2

English and Scottish surname, variant of Ruff, itself of several origins: * From the adjective rough * Variant of Roof, Roff, Rolfe * Scots pronunciation of Rock * German variant of Ruf, itself shortened from Rudolf.

More for "rough"

Synonyms

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