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Webster 1913 Edition

Rough

Rough

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Rougher
;
sup
erl.
Roughest
.]
[OE.
rou[GREEK]
,
rou
,
row
,
rugh
,
ruh
, AS.
r[GREEK]h
; akin to LG.
rug
, D.
rug
, D.
ruig
,
ruw
, OHG.
r[GREEK]h
, G.
rauh
,
rauch
; cf. Lith.
raukas
wrinkle,
rukti
to wrinkle. √ 18. Cf.
Rug
,
Noun.
]
1.
Having inequalities, small ridges, or points, on the surface; not smooth or plain;
as, a
rough
board; a
rough
stone;
rough
cloth
.
Specifically:
(a)
Not level; having a broken surface; uneven; – said of a piece of land, or of a road.
“Rough, uneven ways.”
Shak.
(b)
Not polished; uncut; – said of a gem;
as, a
rough
diamond
.
(c)
Tossed in waves; boisterous; high; – said of a sea or other piece of water.
More unequal than the
roughest
sea.
T. Burnet.
(d)
Marked by coarseness; shaggy; ragged; disordered; – said of dress, appearance, or the like;
as, a
rough
coat
.
“A visage rough.”
Dryden.
“Roughsatyrs.”
Milton.
2.
Hence, figuratively, lacking refinement, gentleness, or polish.
Specifically:
(a)
Not courteous or kind; harsh; rude; uncivil;
as, a
rough
temper
.
A fiend, a fury, pitiless and
rough
.
Shakespeare
A surly boatman,
rough
as wayes or winds.
Prior.
(b)
Marked by severity or violence; harsh; hard;
as,
rough
measures or actions
.
On the
rough
edge of battle.
Milton.
A quicker and
rougher
remedy.
Clarendon.
Kind words prevent a good deal of that perverseness which
rough
and imperious usage often produces.
Locke.
(c)
Loud and hoarse; offensive to the ear; harsh; grating; – said of sound, voice, and the like;
as, a
rough
tone;
rough
numbers
.
Pope.
(d)
Austere; harsh to the taste;
as,
rough
wine
.
(e)
Tempestuous; boisterous; stormy;
as,
rough
weather; a
rough
day
.
He stayeth his
rough
wind.
Isa. xxvii. 8.
Time and the hour runs through the
roughest
day.
Shakespeare
(f)
Hastily or carelessly done; wanting finish; incomplete;
as, a
rough
estimate; a
rough
draught
.
Rough diamond
,
an uncut diamond; hence, colloquially, a person of intrinsic worth under a rude exterior.
–
Rough and ready
.
(a)
Acting with offhand promptness and efficiency
. “The rough and ready understanding.”
Lowell.

(b)
Produced offhand.
“Some rough and ready theory.”
Tylor.

Rough

,
Noun.
1.
Boisterous weather.
[Obs.]
Fletcher.
2.
A rude fellow; a coarse bully; a rowdy.
In the rough
,
in an unwrought or rude condition; unpolished;
as, a diamond or a sketch
in the rough
.
Contemplating the people
in the rough
.
Mrs. Browning.

Rough

,
adv.
In a rough manner; rudely; roughly.
Sleeping
rough
on the trenches, and dying stubbornly in their boats.
Sir W. Scott.

Rough

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To render rough; to roughen.
2.
To break in, as a horse, especially for military purposes.
Crabb.
3.
To cut or make in a hasty, rough manner; – with out;
as, to
rough
out a carving, a sketch
.
Roughing rolls
,
rolls for reducing, in a rough manner, a bloom of iron to bars.
–
To rough it
,
to endure hard conditions of living; to live without ordinary comforts.

Webster 1828 Edition

Rough

ROUGH

,
Adj.
[L. raucus. Eng. rye, that is rough. L. ruga, a wrinkle. Gr. to snore. L. ruga, a wrinkle, a ridge. See Ridge. The primary sense is to stretch or strain; but applied to roughness or wrinkling, it is to draw or contract, a straining together.]
1.
Having inequalities, small ridges or points on the surface; not smooth or plane; as a rough board, a rough stone; rough cloth.
2.
Stony; abounding with stones and stumps; as rough land; or simply with stones; as a rough road.
3.
Not wrought or polished; as a rough diamond.
4.
Thrown into huge waves; violently agitated; as a rough sea.
5.
Tempestuous; stormy; boisterous; as rough weather.
6.
Austere to the taste; harsh; as rough wine.
7.
Harsh to the ear; grating; jarring; unharmonious; as rough sounds; rough numbers.
8.
Rugged of temper; severe; austere; rude; not mild or courteous.
A fiend, a fury, pitiless and rough.
9.
Coarse in manners; rude.
A surly boatman, rough as seas and wind.
10.
Harsh; violent; not easy; as a rough remedy.
11.
Hard featured; not delicate; as a rough visage.
12.
Harsh; severe; uncivil; as rough usage.
13.
Terrible; dreadful.
On the rough edge of battle, ere it join'd, Satan advanc'd.
14.
Rugged; disordered in appearance; coarse.
Rough from the tossing surge Ulysses moves.
15.
Hairy; shaggy; covered with hairs, bristles and the like.

Definition 2024

rough

rough

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

rough ‎(comparative rougher, superlative roughest)

  1. Having a texture that has much friction. Not smooth; uneven.
    • 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room Chapter 1
      The rock was one of those tremendously solid brown, or rather black, rocks which emerge from the sand like something primitive. Rough with crinkled limpet shells and sparsely strewn with locks of dry seaweed, a small boy has to stretch his legs far apart, and indeed to feel rather heroic, before he gets to the top.
  2. Approximate; hasty or careless; not finished.
    a rough estimate; a rough sketch of a building; a rough plan
  3. Turbulent.
    The sea was rough.
  4. Difficult; trying.
    Being a teenager nowadays can be rough.
  5. Crude; unrefined
    His manners are a bit rough, but he means well.
  6. Violent; not careful or subtle
    This box has been through some rough handling.
  7. Loud and hoarse; offensive to the ear; harsh; grating.
    a rough tone; a rough voice
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Alexander Pope to this entry?)
  8. Not polished; uncut; said of a gem.
    a rough diamond
  9. Harsh-tasting.
    rough wine

Antonyms

Translations

Noun

rough ‎(plural roughs)

  1. The unmowed part of a golf course.
  2. A rude fellow; a coarse bully; a rowdy.
  3. (cricket) 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.
  4. The raw material from which faceted or cabochon gems are created.
  5. A quick sketch, similar to a thumbnail, but larger and more detailed. Meant for artistic brainstorming and a vital step in the design process.
  6. (obsolete) Boisterous weather.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Fletcher to this entry?)

Translations

Verb

rough ‎(third-person singular simple present roughs, present participle roughing, simple past and past participle roughed)

  1. To create in an approximate form.
    Rough in the shape first, then polish the details.
  2. (ice hockey) To commit the offense of roughing, i.e. to punch another player.
  3. To render rough; to roughen.
  4. To break in (a horse, etc.), especially for military purposes.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Crabb to this entry?)

Translations

Adverb

rough ‎(comparative more rough, superlative most rough)

  1. In a rough manner; rudely; roughly.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      Sleeping rough on the trenches, and dying stubbornly in their boats.

Derived terms

Etymology

From Middle English rough, rogh, roȝe, row, rou, ru, ruȝ, ruh, from Old English rūg, rūh, from Proto-Germanic *rūhwaz. Cognate with Scots ruch, rouch ‎(“rough”), Saterland Frisian ruuch, rouch ‎(“rough”), West Frisian rûch ‎(“rough”), Low German ruuch ‎(“rough”), Dutch ruig ‎(“rough”), Modern German rau ‎(“rough”), (old spelling) rauh ‎(“rough”); Middle High German rûch ‎(“rough”), (variants) rûhe, rûh, rouch.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɹʌf/
  • Rhymes: -ʌf
  • Homophone: ruff

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