rugged
adjective
Simple meaning
Sturdy and strong in constitution or construction.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ruhguhdSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹʌɡəd
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Sturdy and strong in constitution or construction; enduring
“With a house full of boys you have to have rugged furniture.”
Broken into sharp or irregular points; uneven; not smooth; rough.
of a person
Strong, sturdy, well-built.
Not neat or regular; irregular, uneven.
Rough with bristly hair; shaggy.
Having a rug or rugs.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Sturdy and strong in constitution or construction; enduring
Used this way, rugged is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“With a house full of boys you have to have rugged furniture.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- 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 rugged
- “With a house full of boys you have to have rugged furniture.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Individualism in social and economic affairs.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: sturdy and strong in constitution or construction
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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.