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Rough vs Slick - What's the difference?

rough | slick |

As adjectives the difference between rough and slick

is that rough is having a texture that has much friction. Not smooth; uneven while slick is slippery due to a covering of liquid; often used to describe appearances.

As nouns the difference between rough and slick

is that rough is the unmowed part of a golf course while slick is a covering of liquid, particularly oil.

As verbs the difference between rough and slick

is that rough is to create in an approximate form while slick is to make slick.

As an adverb rough

is in a rough manner; rudely; roughly.

As a proper noun Slick is

a term of address, generally applied to males, possibly including strangers, implying that the person addressed is slick in the sense of "sophisticated", but often used sarcastically.

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

    slick

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Slippery due to a covering of liquid; often used to describe appearances.
  • This rain is making the roads slick .
    The top coating of lacquer gives this finish a slick look.
  • Appearing expensive or sophisticated.
  • They read all kinds of slick magazines.
  • Superficially convincing but actually untrustworthy.
  • That new sales rep is slick . Be sure to read the fine print before you buy anything.
  • * 2014 , Ian Black, " Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis", The Guardian , 27 November 2014:
  • The threat the most radical of them pose is evidently far greater at home than abroad: in one characteristically slick and chilling Isis video – entitled “a message to the Jordanian tyrant” – a smiling, long-haired young man in black pats the explosive belt round his waist as he burns his passport and his fellow fighters praise the memory of Zarqawi, who was killed in Iraq in 2006.
  • Clever, making an apparently hard task easy; often used sarcastically.
  • Our new process for extracting needles from haystacks is extremely slick .
    That was a slick move, locking your keys in the car.
  • Extraordinarily great or special.
  • That is one slick bicycle: it has all sorts of features!
  • sleek; smooth
  • * Chapman
  • Both slick and dainty.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A covering of liquid, particularly oil.
  • Careful in turn three — there's an oil slick on the road.
    The oil slick has now spread to cover the entire bay, critically endangering the sea life.
  • Someone who is clever and untrustworthy.
  • A tool used to make something smooth or even.
  • (sports, automotive) A tire with a smooth surface instead of a tread pattern, often used in auto racing.
  • You'll go much faster if you put on slicks .
  • A helicopter.
  • (printing) A camera-ready image to be used by a printer. The "slick" is photographed to produce a negative image which is then used to burn a positive offset plate or other printing device.
  • The project was delayed because the slick had not been delivered to the printer.
  • A wide paring chisel used in joinery.
  • Synonyms

    * (tyre) slick tire, slick tyre

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make slick
  • The surface had been slicked .
  • * {{quote-news,
  • year=2009, date=January 14, author=Melissa Clark, title=Green, Gold and Pink: Fast, Easy and Delicious, url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/dining/14appe.html, work=New York Times, passage=So I slicked the broccoli with oil and seasonings and set it to roast.}}

    Derived terms

    * slicker * slicken * slick back

    Anagrams

    *