EN

Synonyms for rough

  • adjective

Most common

savage crude unrefined unpolished difficult rugged jagged raspy

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Unpolished — crude; unrefined

unpolished, unrefined, crude, savage, rude, brutal, abrupt, gross, uncouth, awkward, homespun, blunt, brusque, impolite, primitive, churlish, rudimentary, inelegant, uncivil, uncivilized, uncivilised UK, ill-mannered, vulgar

2. Rugged — difficult; trying

hard, rugged, difficult, tough, rocky, sharp, sticky informal, arduous, severe, challenging, knotty, austere

3. Jagged — loud and hoarse; offensive to the ear; harsh; grating

jagged, uneven, scabrous, craggy, raucous, irregular, discordant, cacophonous, scaly

4. Raspy

raspy, scratchy, gruff, grating, gravelly, hoarse

Other

harsh, coarse, bumpy, ragged, stormy, shaggy, cracked, tempestuous, broken, bad, boisterous, uncut

Antonyms

even, smooth, soft

All antonyms of rough →

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    Difficult; trying.

    Being a teenager nowadays can be rough.

  2. adj. 2

    Crude; unrefined.

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

  3. adj. 3

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

  4. adj. 4

    Not smooth; uneven.

Related words

Word family
rough-and-tumble roughcast roughhead rough-hew roughy roughleg roughly roughneck
Phrases
rough up rough bent rough bentgrass rough breathing rough ride rough out rough service light sleep rough
Is a kind of
textured

Example sentences

  • savage There are still some savage tribes on that island.
  • crude Crude persuasion is to persistently egg someone on.
  • unrefined I prefer unrefined sugar rather than consuming sweeteners.
  • unpolished Who brought this unpolished country bumpkin?
  • difficult Explain to him the difficult situation you are in.
  • rugged Northern Algeria is filled with rugged mountains.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
roughsteady
savagerising
crudefalling
unrefinedsteady
unpolishedsteady
difficultsteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters
bad1
4 letters
hard1, rude1
5 letters
tough1, gross1, sharp1, rocky2, harsh1, crude1, blunt1, bumpy2, uncut2, scaly, gruff1, raspy2
6 letters
broken2, severe2, brutal2, savage2, sticky2, rugged2, vulgar2, uneven3, stormy2, abrupt2, coarse1, ragged2, shaggy2, jagged2
7 letters
awkward2, cracked1, arduous3, grating2, austere2, raucous2, uncouth2, brusque1, uncivil3
8 letters
scratchy2, impolite3, gravelly3, homespun2, churlish2, scabrous
9 letters
difficult3, primitive3, irregular4, unrefined3, inelegant
10 letters
boisterous3, discordant3, unpolished
11 letters
challenging3, rudimentary5, uncivilized4, tempestuous4, uncivilised, cacophonous

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (rocky2 = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français
rude
Español
áspero