Rugose

//ɹʊˈɡəʊs// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Having rugae or wrinkles, creases, ridges, or corrugation.
  2. 2
    Rugged, rough, unrefined. figuratively, rare
  3. 3
    Having a rough, wrinkled, or wavy surface; commonly in parasynthetic usage e.g. "rugose-veined" or "rugose-leaved".

    "Petraea foliis rugosis ovatis. The oval, rugose-leaved Petraea. The root is brachiated; the shrub rises to ten feet high: the leaves are three inches long, an inch and a half broad, even at the edges, and very rough to the touch: (Note: In modern nomenclature, the plant in question probably is Petrea rugosa, as the spelling "Petraea" does not seem to match any extant genus,)"

  4. 4
    Describing a fossil coral of the extinct order †Rugosa (also called Tetracoralla), this order has horn-shaped corals with surfaces covered with ridges.
  5. 5
    Used when combined with another adjective, for example, rugose-reticulate or rugose-punctate.
Adjective
  1. 1
    of leaves; ridged or wrinkled wordnet

Example

More examples

"Petraea foliis rugosis ovatis. The oval, rugose-leaved Petraea. The root is brachiated; the shrub rises to ten feet high: the leaves are three inches long, an inch and a half broad, even at the edges, and very rough to the touch: (Note: In modern nomenclature, the plant in question probably is Petrea rugosa, as the spelling "Petraea" does not seem to match any extant genus,)"

Etymology

From Latin rūgōsus (“wrinkled”).

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.