adj

rough

ruhf

adj

Having an uneven or bumpy surface; not smooth.

"The rough stone wall scraped her hand."

Approximate, or done without much care or finishing.

"Give me a rough estimate of the total cost."

"This is just a rough draft — I'll polish it later."

Harsh, difficult, or unpleasant to go through.

"It's been a rough year for the whole family."

Violent or lacking gentleness in manner.

"Try not to be so rough with the puppy."

noun

The area of long grass bordering the fairway on a golf course.

"His drive landed deep in the rough."

verb

To treat someone violently or handle them forcefully (usually as "rough up").

"The bouncers roughed him up before throwing him out."

How to Use Rough

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishNot smooth — used literally for surfaces and texture, and figuratively for approximate estimates, tough times, or unrefined/careless behaviour.

Common mistake

"Rough" (uneven, approximate) is often confused in speech with "ruff" (a dog's bark, or a pleated collar) — they're unrelated homophones.

Easily confused with

ruff →

Common pairings

rough estimate rough draft rough patch rough up

Word Forms

rougher comparative, more rough comparative, roughed past tense, roughs plural, Roughs plural, roughs singular, roughest superlative, most rough superlative

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

The _____ stone wall scraped her hand.

Etymology

From Old English rūh, "rough, hairy," from a Proto-Germanic root; related to German rau and Dutch ruig.

Synonyms

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abrasive asperous coarse gimped harsh irregular jaggy jagged rugged rugose salebrous scabrous

Antonyms

even polished smooth velvety

Related Words

abrasive meticulous irregular regular bad flat smooth strange

Rhymes for rough

cough dough bough tough enough though plough slough trough clough through borough

See all rhymes for rough →

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abrasive asperous coarse gimped harsh irregular jaggy jagged rugged rugose salebrous scabrous