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Rough vs Rugged - What's the difference?

rough | rugged |

Rugged is a synonym of rough.



As adjectives the difference between rough and rugged

is that rough is having a texture that has much friction. Not smooth; uneven while rugged is broken into sharp or irregular points; uneven; not smooth; rough.

As verbs the difference between rough and rugged

is that rough is to create in an approximate form while rugged is past tense of rug.

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

    rugged

    English

    (Webster 1913)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Broken into sharp or irregular points; uneven; not smooth; rough
  • * 1870 , (Mark Twain), Roughing It , Chapter LXV
  • By and by, after a rugged climb, we halted on the summit of a hill which commanded a far-reaching view.
  • Not neat or regular; irregular, uneven.
  • * 2011 , Ronke Luke-Boone, African Fabrics: Sewing Contemporary Fashion with Ethic Flair
  • Commercially produced yarn, such as rayon, produces a cloth with a smoother, shinier look than hand-spun cotton, but the uneven, rugged look of hand-spun cotton can be quite appealing.
  • Rough with bristles or hair; shaggy.
  • * 1897 , Kate Chopin, A Morning Walk
  • His hair was light and rather thin; his face strong and rugged from exposure, and his eyes narrow and observant.
  • (of a person) strong, sturdy, well-built
  • * 2010 , Arthru Queen Jr., Young Man: Ageless Fatherly Wisdom to Hold
  • Many women and men delude themselves into thinking that only the hardest and most rugged man is attractive and to many it may be the case.
  • (of land) rocky and bare of plantlife
  • * 2013 , Vicky Baker in The Guardian , Riding with the cowboys on a Mexico ranch
  • Hidden within 30,000 acres of rugged private land, the ranch is cocooned by peaks and canyons in all directions.
  • * 1971 , United States Forest Service, Search for solitude: our wilderness heritage
  • Much of the area can be seen only by hikers who travel without trails to the higher reaches of this rugged mountain range.
  • Harsh; austere; hard; crabbed; -- said of temper, character, and the like, or of persons.
  • Stormy; turbulent; tempestuous; rude.
  • Harsh; grating; rough to the ear -- said of sound, style, and the like.
  • Sour; surly; frowning; wrinkled; -- said of looks, etc.
  • * 1908 , Rafael Sabatini, The Abduction
  • "Ah!" sighed the unimaginative Granby, and his honest, rugged face grew clouded. Pepper puffed in silence for a moment or two; then spoke.
  • Violent; rude; boisterous; -- said of conduct, manners, etc.
  • Vigorous; robust; hardy; -- said of health, physique, etc.
  • * 1909 , (Jack London), Martin Eden
  • "Her gaze rested for a moment on the muscular neck, heavy corded, almost bull-like, bronzed by the sun, spilling over with rugged health and strength..."
  • (computing, of a computer) designed to reliably operate in harsh usage environments and conditions
  • * 2011 , Nick Fletcher, Psion drops 2% after supply chain issues push it into loss
  • Psion, which supplies a range of rugged hand held computers, has lost nearly 2% after announcing a plunge into the red.
    Derived terms
    * ruggedize * ruggedly * ruggedness * semirugged

    References

    Etymology 2

    (rug) + (-ed)

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Having a rug or rugs.
  • Covered with a rug.
  • Verb

    (head)
  • (rug)
  • Anagrams

    * English heteronyms