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Rough vs Ragged - What's the difference?

rough | ragged |

As adjectives the difference between rough and ragged

is that rough is having a texture that has much friction. Not smooth; uneven while ragged is rent or worn into tatters, or till the texture is broken.

As verbs the difference between rough and ragged

is that rough is to create in an approximate form while ragged is past tense of rag.

As a noun rough

is the unmowed part of a golf course.

As an adverb rough

is in a rough manner; rudely; roughly.

rough

English

Alternative forms

* (colloquial) ruff

Adjective

(er)
  • Having a texture that has much friction. Not smooth; uneven.
  • * 1922 , (Virginia Woolf), (w, Jacob's Room) Chapter 1
    • The rock was one of those tremendously solid brown, or rather black, rocks which emerge from the sand like something primitive. Rough with crinkled limpet shells and sparsely strewn with locks of dry seaweed, a small boy has to stretch his legs far apart, and indeed to feel rather heroic, before he gets to the top.
  • Approximate; hasty or careless; not finished.
    • a rough''' estimate; a '''rough sketch of a building
  • Turbulent.
    • The sea was rough .
  • Difficult; trying.
    • Being a teenager nowadays can be rough .
  • Crude; unrefined
    • His manners are a bit rough , but he means well.
  • Violent; not careful or subtle
    • This box has been through some rough handling.
  • Loud and hoarse; offensive to the ear; harsh; grating.
    • a rough''' tone; a '''rough voice
    (Alexander Pope)
  • Not polished; uncut; said of a gem.
    • a rough diamond
  • Harsh-tasting.
    • rough wine

    Antonyms

    * smooth

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The unmowed part of a golf course.
  • A rude fellow; a coarse bully; a rowdy.
  • (cricket) A scuffed and roughened area of the pitch, where the bowler's feet fall, used as a target by spin bowlers because of its unpredictable bounce.
  • The raw material from which faceted or cabochon gems are created.
  • A quick sketch, similar to a thumbnail, but larger and more detailed. Meant for artistic brainstorming and a vital step in the design process.
  • (obsolete) Boisterous weather.
    • (Fletcher)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To create in an approximate form.
    • Rough in the shape first, then polish the details.
  • To physically assault someone in retribution.
    • The gangsters roughed him up a little.
  • (ice hockey) To commit the offense of roughing, i.e. to punch another player.
  • To render rough; to roughen.
  • To break in (a horse, etc.), especially for military purposes.
    • (Crabb)

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • In a rough manner; rudely; roughly.
  • * Sir Walter Scott
    • Sleeping rough on the trenches, and dying stubbornly in their boats.

    Derived terms

    * bit of rough * diamond in the rough * rough and ready * roughhouse * rough in * roughness * rough out * rough up

    ragged

    English

    (Webster 1913)

    Verb

    (head)
  • (rag)

    • Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Rent or worn into tatters, or till the texture is broken.
    • a ragged coat
    a ragged sail
  • Broken with rough edges; having jags; uneven; rough; jagged.
    • ragged rocks
  • Hence, harsh and disagreeable to the ear; dissonant.
  • * (rfdate) .
    • A ragged noise of mirth.
  • Wearing tattered clothes.
    • a ragged fellow
  • Rough; shaggy; rugged.
  • * (rfdate), .
    • What shepherd owns those ragged sheep?
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=May 19 , author=Paul fletcher , title=Blackpool 1-2 West Ham , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Allardyce's side had led at the break through a Carlton Cole strike but after Thomas Ince - son of former Hammers midfielder Paul - levelled shortly after the restart, the match became increasingly stretched and ragged .}}

    Derived terms

    * ragged lady * raggedly * raggedness * ragged robin * ragged sailor * ragged school

    Anagrams

    * English heteronyms