roughdried
Definition
Adjective: - Describing laundry or textiles that have been dried (typically by hanging or tumbling) but have not been ironed or pressed, leaving them in a somewhat wrinkled or unfinished state.
Usage
The word "roughdried" is used specifically to describe the condition of washed items after drying. It is a compound adjective often applied to clothing, linens, or other fabrics. - It is typically used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb). - It describes an intermediate stage in laundry processing, between being wet and being fully finished.
Examples
- Attributive use:
- She folded the roughdried shirts and put them away.
- The hotel provided roughdried linens for the staff quarters.
- Predicative use:
- All the towels are still roughdried; I need to iron them.
- His jeans were roughdried and felt stiff.
Advanced Usage
- The term is often used in commercial laundry, hospitality, or domestic contexts to specify the level of service or the state of an item.
- It implies a casual, less formal finish compared to ironed or pressed garments.
Variants and Related Words
- Rough-dry (verb, less common): To dry laundry without subsequent ironing.
- I'm going to rough-dry these sheets to save time.
- Line-dried (adj): Dried by hanging on a clothesline, which may result in a similar "roughdried" state but specifies the method.
- Tumble-dried (adj): Dried in a machine dryer, which may also leave items unironed.
Synonyms
- Unironed: Not smoothed with an iron. (A more common and general synonym)
- Wrinkled: Having creases or folds (though this describes the result, not the specific process).
- Air-dried: Dried by exposure to air (focuses on method, not the ironed state).
Antonyms
- Ironed: Smoothed with a heated iron.
- Pressed: Given a smooth, crisp finish, often by ironing.
- Finished: In laundry context, fully processed and ready to wear or use.
Adjective
-
(of laundry) dried but not ironed
