roughly
Britishadverb
-
without being exact or fully authenticated; approximately
roughly half the candidates were successful
-
in a clumsy, coarse, or violent manner
his captors did not treat him roughly
-
in a crude or primitive manner
a slab of roughly hewn stone
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Roughly 9 million borrowers are currently in default on their student loans, and many more are severely behind.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 1, 2026
Roughly 99% of those objects will be observed only photometrically, meaning through images taken in different colors rather than detailed spectra.
From Science Daily • Jun. 29, 2026
Roughly 1 million people use Facebook Dating’s AI assistant daily in the United States and Canada, Meta said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 28, 2026
Roughly two-thirds of Black voters said they would support Talarico over Paxton, according to recent public polling — lower than the proportion that have backed the Democratic U.S.
From Salon • Jun. 25, 2026
Roughly: the more “rhetorical” it sounds—the more stuffed with extended metaphors, elaborate verbal patterning, and five-dollar words—the higher the style.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
