| English Dictionary |
ROUGH
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does rough mean?
• ROUGH (noun)
The noun ROUGH has 1 sense:
1. the part of a golf course bordering the fairway where the grass is not cut short
Familiarity information: ROUGH used as a noun is very rare.
• ROUGH (adjective)
The adjective ROUGH has 14 senses:
1. having or caused by an irregular surface
2. (of persons or behavior) lacking refinement or finesse
3. not quite exact or correct
4. full of hardship or trials
5. violently agitated and turbulent
6. unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound
7. ready and able to resort to force or violence
8. of the margin of a leaf shape; having the edge cut or fringed or scalloped
9. causing or characterized by jolts and irregular movements
10. not shaped by cutting or trimming
11. not carefully or expertly made
12. not perfected
13. unpleasantly stern
14. unkind or cruel or uncivil
Familiarity information: ROUGH used as an adjective is familiar.
• ROUGH (verb)
The verb ROUGH has 1 sense:
1. prepare in preliminary or sketchy form
Familiarity information: ROUGH used as a verb is very rare.
• ROUGH (adverb)
The adverb ROUGH has 2 senses:
1. with roughness or violence ('rough' is an informal variant for 'roughly')
2. with rough motion as over a rough surface
Familiarity information: ROUGH used as an adverb is rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
The part of a golf course bordering the fairway where the grass is not cut short
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("rough" is a kind of...):
land site; site (the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located))
Holonyms ("rough" is a part of...):
golf course; links course (course consisting of a large landscaped area for playing golf)
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: roughest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Having or caused by an irregular surface
Synonyms:
rough; unsmooth
Context example:
his unsmooth face
Similar:
lined; seamed ((used especially of skin) marked by lines or seams)
imbricate; imbricated (used especially of leaves or bracts; overlapping or layered as scales or shingles)
lepidote; leprose; scabrous; scaly; scurfy (rough to the touch; covered with scales or scurf)
squamulose (covered with tiny scales)
homespun; nubbly; nubby; slubbed; tweedy (of textiles; having a rough surface)
pocked; pockmarked; potholed (used of paved surfaces having holes or pits)
rock-ribbed; rockbound (abounding in or bordered by rocky cliffs or scarps)
bouldered; bouldery; rocky; stony (abounding in rocks or stones)
gravelly; pebbly; shingly (abounding in small stones)
roughish (somewhat rough)
rugose (of leaves; ridged or wrinkled)
sandpapery (having the abrasive texture of sandpaper)
saw-like (having rough edges that can be used for sawing)
scabby (covered with scabs)
shagged; shaggy (having a very rough nap or covered with hanging shags)
coarse-textured; rough-textured; textured (having surface roughness)
verrucose; wartlike; warty ((of skin) covered with warts or projections that resemble warts)
cragged; craggy; hilly; mountainous (having hills and crags)
costate; ribbed ((of the surface) having a rough, riblike texture)
corded; twilled (of textiles; having parallel raised lines)
chapped; cracked; roughened (used of skin roughened as a result of cold or exposure)
bumpy (covered with or full of bumps)
bullate (of leaves; appearing puckered as if blistered)
broken; rugged (topographically very uneven)
barky (resembling the rough bark of a tree)
alligatored; cracked (of paint or varnish; having the appearance of alligator hide)
abrasive; scratchy (causing abrasion)
crushed (treated so as to have a permanently wrinkled appearance)
Also:
unpolished (not carefully reworked or perfected or made smooth by polishing)
uneven (not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture)
unironed; wrinkled ((of linens or clothes) not ironed)
irregular (contrary to rule or accepted order or general practice)
coarse; harsh (of textures that are rough to the touch or substances consisting of relatively large particles)
nonslippery (not slippery; not likely to slip or skid)
Antonym:
smooth (having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities)
Derivation:
roughness (a texture of a surface or edge that is not smooth but is irregular and uneven)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(of persons or behavior) lacking refinement or finesse
Context example:
rough manners
Similar:
unrefined ((used of persons and their behavior) not refined; uncouth)
Derivation:
roughness (rowdy behavior)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Not quite exact or correct
Synonyms:
approximate; approximative; rough
Context example:
a ballpark estimate
Similar:
inexact (not exact)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Full of hardship or trials
Synonyms:
rocky; rough
Context example:
they were having a rough time
Similar:
difficult; hard (not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Violently agitated and turbulent
Synonyms:
boisterous; fierce; rough
Context example:
rough seas
Similar:
stormy ((especially of weather) affected or characterized by storms or commotion)
Derivation:
roughness (used of the sea during inclement or stormy weather)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound
Synonyms:
grating; gravelly; rasping; raspy; rough; scratchy
Context example:
a gravelly voice
Similar:
cacophonic; cacophonous (having an unpleasant sound)
Derivation:
roughness (the quality of being harsh or rough or grating to the senses)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Ready and able to resort to force or violence
Synonyms:
pugnacious; rough
Context example:
they were rough and determined fighting men
Similar:
aggressive (having or showing determination and energetic pursuit of your ends)
Derivation:
roughness (rowdy behavior)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Of the margin of a leaf shape; having the edge cut or fringed or scalloped
Similar:
bidentate (having toothlike projections that are themselves toothed)
spinose (having spines)
serrulate (minutely serrated)
notched; saw-toothed; serrate; serrated; toothed (notched like a saw with teeth pointing toward the apex)
runcinate (having incised margins with the lobes or teeth pointing toward the base; as dandelion leaves)
rimose (having a surface covered with a network of cracks and small crevices)
pectinate (like a comb)
lacerate; lacerated (irregularly slashed and jagged as if torn)
fringed; laciniate (having edges irregularly and finely slashed)
fimbriate (having a fringe of slender processes)
erose; jagged; jaggy; notched; toothed (having an irregularly notched or toothed margin as though gnawed)
emarginate (having a notched tip)
denticulate (having a very finely toothed margin)
dentate (having toothlike projections in the margin)
crispate (wavy or notched and curled very irregularly)
crenulate; crenulated (having a margin with small rounded teeth)
crenate; crenated; scalloped (having a margin with rounded scallops)
ciliate; ciliated (having a margin or fringe of hairlike projections)
biserrate (having saw-like notches with the notches themselves similarly notched)
Also:
compound (composed of more than one part)
simple; unsubdivided ((botany) of leaf shapes; of leaves having no divisions or subdivisions)
Domain category:
botany; phytology (the branch of biology that studies plants)
Antonym:
smooth (of the margin of a leaf shape; not broken up into teeth)
Derivation:
roughness (a texture of a surface or edge that is not smooth but is irregular and uneven)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Causing or characterized by jolts and irregular movements
Synonyms:
bumpy; jolting; jolty; jumpy; rocky; rough
Context example:
a rough ride
Antonym:
smooth (of motion that runs or flows or proceeds without jolts or turbulence)
Sense 10
Meaning:
Not shaped by cutting or trimming
Synonyms:
rough; uncut
Context example:
rough gemstones
Similar:
unsheared ((used especially of fur or wool) not having been sheared)
Sense 11
Meaning:
Not carefully or expertly made
Synonyms:
crude; rough
Context example:
rough carpentry
Similar:
unskilled (not having or showing or requiring special skill or proficiency)
Derivation:
roughness (an unpolished unrefined quality)
Sense 12
Meaning:
Not perfected
Context example:
a few rough sketches
Similar:
unpolished (not carefully reworked or perfected or made smooth by polishing)
Sense 13
Meaning:
Unpleasantly stern
Synonyms:
harsh; rough
Context example:
the nomad life is rough and hazardous
Similar:
unpleasant (offensive or disagreeable; causing discomfort or unhappiness)
Derivation:
roughness (an unpolished unrefined quality)
Sense 14
Meaning:
Unkind or cruel or uncivil
Synonyms:
harsh; rough
Context example:
a rough answer
Similar:
unkind (lacking kindness)
| Conjugation: |
... he / she / it roughs Past simple: roughed
Past participle: roughed
-ing form: roughing
Sense 1
Meaning:
Prepare in preliminary or sketchy form
Classified under:
Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing
Synonyms:
Hypernyms (to "rough" is one way to...):
prepare (to prepare verbally, either for written or spoken delivery)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 1
Meaning:
With roughness or violence ('rough' is an informal variant for 'roughly')
Synonyms:
rough; roughly
Context example:
they treated him rough
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Sense 2
Meaning:
With rough motion as over a rough surface
Synonyms:
rough; roughly
Context example:
ride rough
Context examples
Only a rough sketch of Laurie taming a horse.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
The rough looking wiry outer jacket is lined with a softer undercoat.
(Irish Terrier, NCI Thesaurus)
Here is a rough chart of the place.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The best way to avoid CSD is to avoid rough play with cats that could lead to scratches or bites.
(Cat Scratch Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
I fancy his figure before me now, standing near her sofa, with his rough cap in his hand, and the blue eyes of my child-wife raised, with a timid wonder, to his face.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
It is very rough, of course, and it only deals with the points which seem to me to be essential.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I'm not sure, but I believe that he had some serious purpose, and if he had, it was pretty rough on him not to get a chance.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Oh, I know you, but you can't make no rough- house with me.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
I could not move swiftly over the rough, broken ground, but as I looked round me in despair I saw a well-marked, hard-beaten path which ran across in front of me.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Rough, dry, hypertrophic eruption of the skin associated with vitamin A deficiency.
(Phrynoderma, NCI Thesaurus)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"To give happiness to another person gives such a great merit, it cannot even be carried by a horse." (Bhutanese proverb)
"He who plants thorns must never expect to gather roses." (Arabic proverb)
"Anyone who lives will know trying times." (Corsican proverb)