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rough-hew

or rough·hew

[ruhf-hyoo]
See more synonyms for rough-hew on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), rough-hewed, rough-hewed or rough-hewn, rough-hew·ing.
  1. to hew (timber, stone, etc.) roughly or without smoothing or finishing.
  2. to shape roughly; give crude form to.
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Origin of rough-hew

First recorded in 1520–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

fashion, divide, hack, chisel, shape, slice, engrave, etch, mold, sculpt, trim, cleave, hew, indent, form, pattern, chip, stipple, tool, incise

Examples from the Web for rough-hew

Historical Examples

  • "Rough-hew them as we will," said Rayburn, looking backward.

    The Missionary

    George Griffith

  • There is a hand that shapes our ends, rough-hew them as we will.

    Hubert's Wife

    Minnie Mary Lee

  • But "there's a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will."

  • Where does he rough-hew or shape his work, and where is it for sale?

  • “There is a destiny that shapes our ends, rough-hew them though we may,” he thought to himself.

British Dictionary definitions for rough-hew

rough-hew

verb -hews, -hewing, -hewed, -hewed or -hewn (tr)
  1. to cut or hew (timber, stone, etc) roughly without finishing the surface
  2. Also: roughcast to shape roughly or crudely
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012