Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Having an uneven or irregular surface; not smooth or level: The word describes a texture that is coarse, bumpy, or not polished.
   • Not gentle or careful; violent or boisterous: It can describe actions, behavior, or conditions that are harsh, tough, or characterized by force.
   • Approximate or not finished: It refers to something that is preliminary, not exact, or in an early, unrefined state.
   • Difficult or unpleasant: It describes situations or experiences that are hard, marked by hardship, or uncomfortable.
   • Lacking sophistication or refinement; crude: It can describe manners, language, or people that are unpolished or uncultured.

2. Noun:

   • An area on a golf course with long grass bordering the fairway: This is a specific term in the sport of golf.
   • The difficult or unpleasant aspects of something: It can refer to hardships or challenging parts of life.

3. Verb:

   • To create or shape something in a preliminary or unfinished way: The action of making a first, basic version of something.
   • To treat someone violently or harshly (often used with 'up'): The action of assaulting or manhandling someone.

4. Adverb:

   • In a rough manner; with force or without care: Describes how an action is performed, often implying violence or a lack of gentleness.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:

  • The rough bark of the tree scraped my hand.
  • We had a rough crossing on the ferry due to the storm.
  • This is just a rough draft of my essay.
  • He's had a rough year after losing his job.
  • His rough manners made him unpopular at the formal dinner.

• Noun:

  • His ball landed in the rough, making his next shot very difficult.
  • In life, you have to take the rough with the smooth.

• Verb:

  • The architect roughed out the initial plans for the building.
  • The gang threatened to rough him up if he didn't pay.

• Adverb:

  • He played the game too rough and was penalized.
  • Don't handle the antique vase so rough.

Advanced Usage

• "rough it": to live in a simple, uncomfortable way without the usual comforts.

  • We decided to rough it and go camping without any modern gadgets.

• "in the rough": in an unfinished, natural, or unrefined state.

  • The sculpture is still in the rough, but you can see the potential.

• "rough and ready": basic but effective; not sophisticated but adequate for the purpose.

  • Our rough and ready solution solved the immediate problem.

Variants and Related Words

• Roughly (adverb): Approximately; in a rough manner.
  • The project will cost roughly a thousand dollars.
• Roughness (noun): The quality or state of being rough.
  • The roughness of his hands showed years of manual labor.
• Roughen (verb): To make or become rough.
  • Salt water can roughen your skin.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Uneven, coarse, harsh, tough, approximate, crude, rugged, violent.
• Verb: Sketch, outline, manhandle, assault.
• Noun: Hardship, difficulty, underbrush (in golf context).

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Rough out: To make a preliminary sketch or plan.
  • Let me rough out a schedule for the next week.
• Rough up: To attack or beat someone.
  • The thieves roughed up the shopkeeper during the robbery.

Related Idioms

• A diamond in the rough: A person or thing with good qualities but lacking polish or refinement.
  • He's a bit uneducated, but he's a diamond in the rough.
• Take the rough with the smooth: To accept the unpleasant parts of a situation along with the pleasant ones.
  • In any relationship, you have to take the rough with the smooth.
• Sleep rough: To sleep outdoors, typically because one is homeless.
  • After losing his home, he was forced to sleep rough for months.

Adjective

1. unkind or cruel or uncivil
   • had harsh words
   • a harsh and unlovable old tyrant
   • a rough answer
2. unpleasantly stern
   • wild and harsh country full of hot sand and cactus
   • the nomad life is rough and hazardous
3. not perfected
   • a rough draft
   • a few rough sketches
4. not carefully or expertly made
   • managed to make a crude splint
   • a crude cabin of logs with bark still on them
   • rough carpentry
5. not shaped by cutting or trimming
   • an uncut diamond
   • rough gemstones
6. causing or characterized by jolts and irregular movements
   • a rough ride
7. of the margin of a leaf shape; having the edge cut or fringed or scalloped
8. ready and able to resort to force or violence
   • pugnacious spirits...lamented that there was so little prospect of an exhilarating disturbance- Herman Melville
   • they were rough and determined fighting men
9. unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound
   • a gravelly voice
10. violently agitated and turbulent
    • boisterous winds and waves
    • the fierce thunders roar me their music- Ezra Pound
    • rough weather
    • rough seas
11. full of hardship or trials
    • the rocky road to success
    • they were having a rough time
12. not quite exact or correct
    • the approximate time was 10 o'clock
    • a rough guess
    • a ballpark estimate
13. (of persons or behavior) lacking refinement or finesse
    • she was a diamond in the rough
    • rough manners
14. having or caused by an irregular surface
    • trees with rough bark
    • rough ground
    • rough skin
    • rough blankets
    • his unsmooth face

Noun

1. the part of a golf course bordering the fairway where the grass is not cut short

Adverb

1. with rough motion as over a rough surface
   • ride rough
2. with roughness or violence (`rough' is an informal variant for `roughly')
   • he was pushed roughly aside
   • they treated him rough

Verb

1. prepare in preliminary or sketchy form