rough (rough)

adjective

• 1having an uneven or irregular surface; not smooth or level: they had to carry the victim across the rough, stony ground her skin felt dry and rough
• denoting the face of a tennis or squash racket on which the loops formed from the stringing process project (used as a call when the racket is spun to decide the right to serve first or to choose ends).

• 2(of a person or their behaviour) not gentle; violent or boisterous: pushchairs should be capable of withstanding rough treatment
• (of an area or occasion) characterized by violent behaviour: the workmen hate going to the rough estates
• (of weather or the sea) wild and stormy: the lifeboat crew braved rough seas to rescue a couple

• 3not finished tidily or decoratively; plain and basic: the customers sat at rough wooden tables
• put together as a temporary measure; makeshift: he had one arm in a rough sling
• lacking sophistication or refinement: she took care of him in her rough, kindly way
• not fully worked out or including every detail: he had a rough draft of his new novel
• (of stationery) used for making preliminary notes: rough paper

• 4(of a voice) harsh and rasping: his voice was rough with barely suppressed fury
• (of wine or another alcoholic drink) sharp or harsh in taste: he refilled the mug with rough cider

• 5not exact or precise; approximate: they had a rough idea of when the murder took place it’ll cost about £50, at a rough guess

• 6 informal difficult and unpleasant: the teachers gave me a rough time because my image didn’t fit
• British hard; severe: the first day of a job is rough on everyone
• unwell: the altitude had hit her and she was feeling rough

adverb

• in a manner that lacks gentleness; harshly or violently: treat ‘em rough but treat ’em fair

noun

• 1chiefly British a disreputable and violent person: the rear of the column was attacked by roughs

• 2 [mass noun] (on a golf course) longer grass around the fairway and the green: his second shot lay in the rough

• 3a preliminary sketch: I did a rough to work out the scale of the lettering

• 4an uncut precious stone: miners discovered one of the biggest diamond roughs in history

verb

• 1work or shape (something) in a rough, preliminary fashion: flat surfaces of wood are roughed down
• (rough something out) produce a preliminary and unfinished version of something: the engineer roughed out a diagram on his notepad

• 2make uneven: rough up the icing with a palette knife

• 3 (rough it) informal live in discomfort with only basic necessities: she’d had to rough it alone in digs