rough

rough

See also: Rough

English

Alternative forms

• ruff (colloquial)

Etymology

From Middle English rough, rogh, roȝe, row, rou, ru, ruȝ, ruh, from Old English rūg, rūh, from Proto-Germanic *rūhaz. Cognate with Scots ruch, rouch (“rough”), Saterland Frisian ruuch, rouch (“rough”), West Frisian rûch (“rough”), Low German ruuch (“rough”), Dutch ruig (“rough”), German rau(h) (“rough”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ɹʌf/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ʌf
• Homophone: ruff

Adjective

rough (comparative rougher, superlative roughest)

1. Not smooth; uneven.
   • 1922 October 26, Virginia Woolf, chapter 1, in Jacob’s Room, Richmond, London: […] Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, OCLC 19736994; republished London: The Hogarth Press, 1960, OCLC 258624721:

     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.

   rough sea

   • 1927, M[ohandas] K[aramchand] Gandhi, chapter XII, in Mahadev Desai, transl., The Story of My Experiments with Truth: Translated from the Original in Gujarati, volume I, Ahmedabad, Gujarat: Navajivan Press, OCLC 875661731:

     With my mother's permission and blessings, I set off exultantly for Bombay, leaving my wife with a baby of a few months. But on arrival there, friends told my brother that the Indian Ocean was rough in June and July, and as this was my first voyage, I should not be allowed to sail until November.

4. Difficult; trying.

   Being a teenager nowadays can be rough.

5. Crude; unrefined.

   His manners are a bit rough, but he means well.

6. Worn; shabby; weather-beaten.
7. Violent; not careful or subtle.

   This box has been through some rough handling.

8. Loud and hoarse; offensive to the ear; harsh; grating.

   a rough tone

   a rough voice

   • 1709, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W. Lewis […], published 1711, OCLC 15810849:

     But most by Numbers judge a Poet's song, / And smooth or rough, with them

9. (of a gem) Not polished; uncut.

   a rough diamond

10. Harsh-tasting.

    rough wine

11. (chiefly UK, colloquial, slang) Somewhat ill; sick; in poor condition.
12. (chiefly UK, colloquial, slang) Unwell due to alcohol; hungover.

Antonyms

• smooth

Derived terms

• nanorough
• rough and ready
• rough around the edges
• rough-book
• roughcast
• rough-dressed
• roughhouse
• roughly
• roughness
• rough number
• roughrider, rough rider
• roughshod
• roughspun
• rough trade
• the rough side of one's tongue
• unrough

 

Translations

not smooth

Arabic: خَشِن‎ (ar) (ḵašin) Aromanian: ascuru Assamese: খহটা (khohota) Belarusian: гру́бы (hrúby), грубы́ (hrubý) Bikol Central: maragkot Bulgarian: грапав (bg) (grapav), неравен (bg) (neraven) Burmese: ကြမ်း (my) (kram:) Catalan: aspre (ca) Cherokee: ᎤᏐᏅ (usonv) Chinese: Mandarin: 粗糙 (zh) (cūcāo) Czech: hrubý (cs) m Dutch: ruw (nl), ruig (nl) Estonian: kare (et) Finnish: karhea (fi), rosoinen French: rude (fr), rugueux (fr), brut (fr) m Galician: áspero, esgrevio German: rau (de), grob (de) Greek: Ancient: τραχύς (trakhús) Hungarian: durva (hu), érdes (hu), egyenetlen (hu) Ido: aspera (io) Indonesian: kasar (id) Irish: garbh Italian: ruvido (it), rugoso (it), scabro (it) m Japanese: 凸凹な (ja) (でこぼこな, dekoboko na), 粗い (ja) (あらい, arai) Korean: 거칠다 (ko) (geochilda) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: زوور‎ (zûr) Latin: asper Latvian: raupjš, rupjš, ass (lv), negluds Lithuanian: šiurkštus Macedonian: груб (grub) Maori: tuarangaranga (refers to a land surface), kaitara (of texture), whakanokenoke (refers to land surface), mātoretore, tuarangaranga (of water), mātoetoe, torehapehape Navajo: dichʼíízh Norman: rude m or f Occitan: aspre (oc) Persian: زبر‎ (fa) (zebr), زمخت‎ (fa) (zomoxt), خشن‎ (fa) (xašen) Plautdietsch: ruch, schroff Polish: szorstki (pl), zgrubny, chropowaty (pl) Portuguese: áspero (pt) Quechua: taku, qhachqa Romanian: dur (ro), aspru (ro) Russian: гру́бый (ru) (grúbyj), шерохова́тый (ru) (šeroxovátyj), жёсткий (ru) (žóstkij) Scots: roch Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: груб Roman: grub (sh) Slovak: hrubý Slovene: grob (sl) Spanish: áspero (es) Sundanese: keusrak Swedish: ojämn (sv) Telugu: గరుకు (te) (garuku) Tocharian B: aśāwe, śāwe Ukrainian: гру́бий (hrúbyj), шорстки́й (šorstkýj) Walloon: graevleus (wa) m, rexhe (wa) m or f West Frisian: rûch (fy) Zazaki: xısn

approximate

Bulgarian: приблизителен (bg) (priblizitelen) Catalan: aproximat (ca), quasi (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 粗略 (zh) (cūlüè) Czech: hrubý (cs) m Estonian: ligilähedane Finnish: karkea (fi), alustava (fi) French: approximatif (fr) m Galician: esmo (gl) m, acaroado (gl) m, aproximado m, aproximada f Georgian: დაახლოებითი (daaxloebiti), მიახლოებითი (miaxloebiti) German: grob (de) Hungarian: hozzávetőleges (hu), nyers (hu) Italian: approssimato (it) Portuguese: aproximado (pt) Russian: приблизи́тельный (ru) (priblizítelʹnyj), приме́рный (ru) (primérnyj), черново́й (ru) (černovój) Spanish: aproximado (es) m, aproximativo m, casi (es) Telugu: సుమారు (te) (sumāru)

turbulent

Bulgarian: бурен (bg) (buren), развълнуван (bg) (razvǎlnuvan) Catalan: turbulent Czech: bouřlivý m Finnish: aallokkoinen (fi), kuoppainen (fi) Galician: barullento m, torboento m Hungarian: zord (hu), kemény (hu) Irish: garbh Italian: mosso (it) Maori: tuarangaranga, whenewhene, kōrawarawa (of waves), ngarungaru (of waves), pohepohe (of the sea), tuke (of the sea) Norwegian: Bokmål: urolig (no) Portuguese: turbulento (pt) Russian: бу́рный (ru) (búrnyj) Spanish: turbulento (es)

difficult

Bulgarian: труден (bg) (truden), неприятен (bg) (neprijaten) Catalan: difícil (ca) Czech: nepříjemný (cs) m Finnish: kova (fi) French: difficile (fr) m or f Galician: galludo (gl) m, enfesto (gl) m, carizolo (gl) m, desdoado (gl) m, caroso (gl) m, arrevesado (gl) m Hungarian: kemény (hu), nehéz (hu) Italian: difficile (it) Latin: difficilis (la) Portuguese: duro (pt), difícil (pt) Russian: суро́вый (ru) (suróvyj), тру́дный (ru) (trúdnyj), тяжёлый (ru) (tjažólyj) Spanish: difícil (es) Telugu: కష్టమైన (te) (kaṣṭamaina)

crude, unrefined

Bulgarian: суров (bg) (surov), необработен (bg) (neobraboten) Catalan: rude (ca) m or f, tosc (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 粗魯／粗鲁 (zh) (cūlǔ), 粗野 (zh) (cūyě) Czech: surový (cs) m, neomalený (cs) m Finnish: karkea (fi) French: brut (fr) m Galician: áspero, rude (gl) m, caxoto (gl) m, tarosco (gl) m, xoto (gl) m, brután (gl) m, burdallo (gl) m, zamarrón (gl) m, taleigán (gl) m Hungarian: durva (hu), faragatlan (hu), műveletlen (hu), nyers (hu) Indonesian: kasar (id) Irish: amhchaoin Italian: rude (it) Japanese: 粗野 (ja) (soya) Latin: rudis, impolītus Latvian: raupjš, rupjš Maori: kōkau, pūhungahunga Portuguese: grosseiro (pt), tosco (pt) Romanian: brut (ro) Russian: гру́бый (ru) (grúbyj) Spanish: tosco (es), rudo (es)

violent

Bulgarian: груб (bg) (grub) Catalan: complicat (ca), dur (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 粗暴 (zh) (cūbào) Finnish: kova (fi), karkea (fi), väkivaltainen (fi), kovakourainen (fi) French: brutal (fr) m Greek: Ancient: ἀπηνής (apēnḗs) Irish: eascaoin Latvian: raupjš, rupjš Romanian: brutal (ro) Spanish: complicado (es), duro (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Ido: (please verify) aspera (io) Irish: (please verify) aindreanta Telugu: (please verify) ఉరామరిక (te) (urāmarika), (please verify) సుమారు (te) (sumāru), (please verify) రమారమి (te) (ramārami) (2), (please verify) కల్లోలం (te) (kallōlaṁ) (3), (please verify) మోటు (te) (mōṭu) (5), (please verify) మొరటు (te) (moraṭu) (6)

Noun

rough (plural roughs)

1. The unmowed part of a golf course.
2. A rude fellow; a coarse bully; a rowdy.
   • 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 124:

     In Wellington Street my brother met a couple of sturdy roughs, who had just rushed out of Fleet Street with still wet newspapers and staring placards. "Dreadful catastrophe!" they bawled one to the other down Wellington Street. "Fighting at Weybridge!"

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, used for artistic brainstorming.
6. (obsolete) Boisterous weather.
   • 1633, Phineas Fletcher, Eclog 1. Amyntas:

     In calms you fish; in roughs use songs and dances.

7. A piece inserted in a horseshoe to keep the animal from slipping.

Derived terms

• bit of rough
• diamond in the rough
• rough-and-tumble

 

Translations

unmowed part of golf-course

Czech: raf (vyšší tráva kolem fairwaye) Finnish: karheikko (fi), raffi (fi) German: Rough n

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.
   • 1802, Charles James, A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary:

     To Rough Horses, a word in familiar use among the dragoons to signify the act of breaking in horses, so as to adapt them to military purposes.

5. To endure primitive conditions.

   to rough it

   • 1920, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “The Escape”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, OCLC 561951956, page 280:

     “ […] Oh, but my husband is never so happy as when he is travelling. He likes roughing it. . . . My husband. . . . My husband. . . .”

   • 2013, Anne-Marie K. Kittiphanh, If Life Gave Me LEMONS, I Would Turn It into HONEY, →ISBN:

     I was able to help Trudy set up camp and everything else, of course there are different ways to camp the usual comfortable way or roughed we of course roughed it and I did my best to keep warm.

6. (transitive) To roughen a horse's shoes to keep the animal from slipping.

Derived terms

• rough in
• rough it
• rough out
• rough up

 

Translations

to create in approximate form

Bulgarian: скицирам (bg) (skiciram) Finnish: luonnostella (fi), hahmotella (fi) French: ébaucher (fr)

ice hockey: to perform roughing

Finnish: olla väkivaltainen

to render rough — see roughen

to break in

Finnish: kouluttaa (fi)

Adverb

rough (comparative more rough, superlative most rough)

1. In a rough manner; rudely; roughly.
   • 1826, [Walter Scott], chapter IV, in Woodstock; Or, The Cavalier. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, OCLC 991895633, page 93:

     I will warrant they prove such roaring boys as I knew when I served under Lumford and Goring, [...] —sleeping rough on the trenches, and dying stubbornly in their boats. Ah! those merry days are gone.

Derived terms

• sleep rough

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Yola

Noun

rough

1. Alternative form of rugh

References

• Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 65