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rough

adjective · noun · verb · adverb

Simple meaning

Approximate; hasty or careless.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ruhf
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɹʌf

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Approximate; hasty or careless; not finished.

  2. of a place

    Having socio-economic problems, hence possibly dangerous.

  3. Violent; not careful or subtle.

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

  5. Worn; shabby; weather-beaten.

  6. Harsh-tasting.

noun

  1. A rude fellow; a coarse bully; a rowdy.

  2. A piece inserted in a horseshoe to keep the animal from slipping.

  3. The raw material from which faceted or cabochon gems are created.

  4. A quick sketch, similar to a thumbnail but larger and more detailed, used for artistic brainstorming.

verb

  1. To create in an approximate form.

  2. transitive

    To roughen a horse's shoes to keep the animal from slipping.

  3. To endure primitive conditions.

  4. To render rough; to roughen.

adverb

  1. With rough motion as over a rough surface

  2. In a rough manner; rudely; roughly.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Not shaped by cutting or trimming

Used this way, rough is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use rough

  • “Trees with rough bark.”adjective

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Approximate

rough approximation

Worn

rough weather

Other combinations

rough ridersrough surfacerough idearough stonerough groundrough sketch

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • roughnessnounDerived noun

    A texture of a surface or edge that is not smooth but is irregular and uneven.

  • roughlyadverbDerived adverb

    Imprecise but fairly close to correct.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • rough fishnounCompound term

    Any fish useless for food or sport or even as bait.

  • rough green snakenounCompound term

    Of southern and eastern United States.

  • rough-hewverbCompound term

    Hew roughly, without finishing the surface.

  • rough horsetailnounCompound term

    Evergreen erect horsetail with rough-edged stems.

  • rough-houseverbCompound term

    Treat in a rough or boisterous manner.

  • rough inverbCompound term

    Prepare in preliminary or sketchy form.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.