rough
Pronunciation: (ruf), [key]
— adj., n., adv., v. -er, -est,
—adj.
- having a coarse or uneven surface, as from projections, irregularities, or breaks; not smooth: rough, red hands; a rough road.
- shaggy or coarse: a dog with a rough coat.
- (of an uninhabited region or large land area) steep or uneven and covered with high grass, brush, trees, stones, etc.: to hunt over rough country.
- acting with or characterized by violence: Boxing is a rough sport.
- characterized by unnecessary violence or infractions of the rules: It was a rough prize fight.
- violently disturbed or agitated; turbulent, as water or the air: a rough sea.
- having a violently irregular motion; uncomfortably or dangerously uneven: The plane had a rough flight in the storm.
- stormy or tempestuous, as wind or weather.
- sharp or harsh: a rough temper.
- unmannerly or rude: his rough and churlish manner; They exchanged rough words.
- disorderly or riotous: a rough mob.
- difficult or unpleasant: to have a rough time of it.
- harsh to the ear; grating or jarring, as sounds.
- harsh to the taste; sharp or astringent: a rough wine.
- coarse, as food.
- lacking culture or refinement: a rough, countrified manner.
- without refinements, luxuries, or ordinary comforts or conveniences: rough camping.
- requiring exertion or strength rather than intelligence or skill: rough manual labor.
- not elaborated, perfected, or corrected; unpolished, as language, verse, or style: a rough draft.
- made or done without any attempt at exactness, completeness, or thoroughness; approximate or tentative: a rough guess.
- crude, unwrought, nonprocessed, or unprepared: rough rice.
- uttered with aspiration; having the sound of h; aspirated.
—n.
- something that is rough, esp. rough ground.
- any part of the course bordering the fairway on which the grass, weeds, etc., are not trimmed.
- the unpleasant or difficult part of anything.
- anything in its crude or preliminary form, as a drawing.
- a rowdy; ruffian.
- in a rough, crude, or unfinished state: The country has an exciting potential, but civilization there is still in the rough.
—adv.
- in a rough manner; roughly.
—v.t.
- to make rough; roughen.
- to give a beating to, manhandle, or subject to physical violence (often fol. by up): The mob roughed up the speaker.
- to subject to some rough, preliminary process of working or preparation (often fol. by down, off, or out): to rough off boards.
- to sketch roughly or in outline (often fol. by in or out): to rough out a diagram; to rough in the conversation of a novel.
- to subject (a player on the opposing team) to unnecessary physical abuse, as in blocking or tackling: The team was penalized 15 yards for roughing the kicker.
—v.i.
- to become rough, as a surface.
- to behave roughly.
- to live without the customary comforts or conveniences; endure rugged conditions: We really roughed it on our fishing trip.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.