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| rough [ ruf ] |
adjective (comparative rough·er, superlative roughest) |
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1. not smooth or flat: having a bumpy, knobby, or uneven surface rather than being smooth, flat, and regular
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2. not soft: not soft and smooth, but rather coarse in texture
  a dog with a rough bristly coat
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3. windy or turbulent: stormy, or unpleasantly turbulent as a result of stormy conditions
Rough seas washed some boats onto the beach.
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4. not gentle: characterized by or done with a lot of force or violence
toys that will stand up to rough handling
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5. boorish: not refined or polite in manner and behavior, but tending to be noisy and rowdy
rough talk
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6. frequented by unsavory people: frequented or inhabited by people who tend to be noisy, rowdy, or violent
a rough part of town
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7. harsh: harsh in sound or to the taste
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8. general: not exact, precise, or detailed, but broadly correct
a rough estimate
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9. thrown together: made quickly and without using proper or good-quality materials, or providing for only the most basic needs
a rough shelter made from branches
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10. crude: hastily or incompletely made
a rough wooden carving
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11. difficult to travel over: in a wild and natural state and difficult to travel across
marching over rough terrain
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12. severe or unpleasant: severe, unfair, or generally unpleasant
They felt they had received rough treatment at the hands of the judge.
It's rough on the children when the parents split up.
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noun (plural roughs) |
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1. unmown part of golf course: the area of a golf course on which grass and other vegetation is allowed to grow higher than on the fairway
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2. preliminary outline: a preliminary version of something, e.g. a sketch giving the broad layout of an artwork
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3. U.K. violent person: a violent or brutal person, especially a hired thug
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transitive verb (past and past participle roughed, present participle rough·ing, 3rd person present singular roughs) |
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1. roughen something: to make something rough
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2. U.S. use violence on opposing player: in football and ice hockey, to treat an opposing player with unnecessary violence
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| [ Old English rūh< Germanic] |
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| rough·ish adjective |
| rough·ness noun |
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in the rough in a crude, unfinished, or uncultivated state
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rough it to live in a less comfortable or less sophisticated way than usual (informal)
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rough or smooth used as a call when spinning a racket in a game of tennis or squash to decide which player should serve first or choose the end to serve from
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take the rough with the smooth to accept the disadvantages of a situation as well as the advantages
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| Spelling Note |
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rough or ruff? Do not confuse the spelling of rough and ruff, which sound similar. Rough is chiefly used as an adjective, meaning "coarse," "bumpy," "harsh," or "approximate," as in a rough surface, a rough flight, rough treatment, a rough draft. It is occasionally used as a noun or verb, as in take the rough with the smooth, roughing it in makeshift accommodations. Ruff is a noun denoting a stiff pleated collar worn in the 16th and 17th centuries, or a bird with neck feathers resembling such a collar.
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