Wordul · all words

adjective · 1 syllable · /rʌf/

ROUGH

What does "ROUGH" mean?

Having an uneven or irregular surface; not smooth, gentle, or refined.

Meanings

  1. Having a coarse, uneven surface to the touch. The bark was rough against her palm.
  2. Not gentle; violent, harsh, or boisterous. The crossing was rough, and half the passengers were seasick.
  3. Approximate; not finished or precise. Give me a rough estimate of the cost.
  4. The longer grass bordering a golf fairway. His drive sliced into the rough. technical

Did you know?

  • 'Rough' belongs to English's most notorious spelling trap: the '-ough' string is pronounced at least six different ways across 'rough', 'though', 'through', 'cough', 'bough', and 'thorough'.

Word origin

From Old English 'ruh' (rough, hairy, coarse), of Germanic origin, related to Dutch 'ruw' and German 'rauh'.

Remember it

ROUGH rhymes with 'enough' and 'tough' - the '-ough' here sounds like 'uff', never like the smooth way it looks.

A little poem

Sandpaper morning-
the day drags across my skin
grain against the grain.

haiku

Wordplay

  • I told the golfer the spelling test was rough. He sighed and said he'd been stuck in the rough all afternoon too.

What it teaches

Smooth surfaces hold nothing; it is the rough ones that give a grip when the path turns steep.

Quick facts

What does ROUGH mean?

Having an uneven or irregular surface; not smooth, gentle, or refined.

Is ROUGH a valid word?

Yes — ROUGH is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.

How many letters is ROUGH?

ROUGH has 5 letters and 1 syllable.

Where does ROUGH come from?

From Old English 'ruh' (rough, hairy, coarse), of Germanic origin, related to Dutch 'ruw' and German 'rauh'.

What can ROUGH teach us?

Smooth surfaces hold nothing; it is the rough ones that give a grip when the path turns steep.

How players do

Be the first to solve it.

Play today's Wordul →