rough

[[t]rʌ̱f[/t]]

♦♦♦

rougher, roughest, roughs, roughing, roughed

1) ADJ-GRADED If a surface is rough, it is uneven and not smooth.

His hands were rough and calloused, from years of karate practice...

Grace made her way slowly across the rough ground.

Ant:

smooth

Derived words:

roughness N-UNCOUNT

She rested her cheek against the roughness of his jacket.

2) ADJ-GRADED You say that people or their actions are rough when they use too much force and not enough care or gentleness.

Rugby's a rough game at the best of times...

They have complained of discrimination and occasional rough treatment.

Ant:

gentle

Derived words:

roughly ADV-GRADED

A hand roughly pushed him aside.

roughness N-UNCOUNT

He regretted his roughness.

3) ADJ-GRADED A rough area, city, school, or other place is unpleasant and dangerous because there is a lot of violence or crime there.

It was quite a rough part of our town.

4) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n If you say that someone has had a rough time, you mean that they have had some difficult or unpleasant experiences.

All women have a rough time in our society...

Tomorrow, he knew, would be a rough day.

Syn:

tough

5) ADJ-GRADED: v-link ADJ If you feel rough, you feel ill. [BRIT, INFORMAL]

The virus won't go away and the lad is still feeling a bit rough.

Syn:

ill

6) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n A rough calculation or guess is approximately correct, but not exact.

We were only able to make a rough estimate of how much fuel would be required...

As a rough guide, a horse needs 2.5 per cent of his body weight in food every day.

Syn:

approximate

Derived words:

roughly ADV-GRADED ADV with cl/group

Gambling and tourism pay roughly half the entire state budget...

The Ukraine is roughly equal to France in size and population.

...a period of very roughly 30 million years.

7) ADJ-GRADED If you give someone a rough idea, description, or drawing of something, you indicate only the most important features, without much detail.

I've got a rough idea of what he looks like...

It often helps to make a rough sketch showing where the vehicles were.

Derived words:

roughly ADV-GRADED ADV with cl/group, ADV after v

He knew roughly what was about to be said...

Roughly speaking, a scientific humanist is somebody who believes in science and in humanity but not in God.

8) ADJ-GRADED You can say that something is rough when it is not neat and well made.

The bench had a rough wooden table in front of it.

...chairs set in a rough circle in the middle of the room.

Derived words:

roughly ADV-GRADED ADV with v

Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to the casserole.

...houses, roughly painted white or blue.

9) ADJ-GRADED If the sea or the weather at sea is rough, the weather is windy or stormy and there are very big waves.

A fishing vessel and a cargo ship collided in rough seas.

Syn:

choppy

Ant:

calm

10) ADV: ADV after v When people sleep or live rough, they sleep out of doors, usually because they have no home. [BRIT]

It makes me so sad when I see young people begging or sleeping rough on the streets.

11) VERB If you have to rough it, you have to live without the possessions and comforts that you normally have.

[V it] You won't be roughing it; each room comes equipped with a telephone and a 3-channel radio.

12) rough justice → see justice

Phrasal Verbs:

- rough out

- rough up