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Roughly vs Exactly - What's the difference?

roughly | exactly |

As adverbs the difference between roughly and exactly

is that roughly is in a rough manner while exactly is (manner) without approximation; precisely.

As an interjection exactly is

(signifies agreement or recognition).

roughly

English

Adverb

(en-adv)
  • In a rough manner.
  • Unevenly; harshly; rudely; severely; austerely.
  • Imprecise but close to in quantity or amount; approximately.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-12-06, author= Alok Jha
    • , volume=189, issue=26, page=27, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= A deadly disease could travel at jet speed around the world. How do we stop it in time? , passage=Of the roughly 400 emerging infectious diseases that have been identified since 1940, more than 60% are zoonotic: ie they came from animals. Throughout history this has been common.}}

    Synonyms

    * approximately, around, near, nearly, almost, about, loosely, circa

    exactly

    English

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • (manner) without approximation; precisely.
    • Measure exactly so we can be sure it is right.
    The edge is not exactly straight.
  • (focus) Used to provide emphasis.
    • It was exactly an Eastern gray squirrel.
    He divided the coins exactly in half.
    He did it that way exactly to prove the point.
    His complaint was exactly that she failed to meet the deadline by four days.

    Antonyms

    * approximately

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • (Signifies agreement or recognition)
    • So you're saying that we have only three days left? / Yes, exactly !