roughen
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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roughens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
roughened,
past participle, past
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roughening
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
roughensimple
-
roughenssimple
-
have roughenedperfect
-
has roughenedperfect
-
am rougheningprogressive
-
are rougheningprogressive
-
is rougheningprogressive
-
have been rougheningperfect progressive
-
has been rougheningperfect progressive
Past
-
roughenedsimple
-
had roughenedperfect
-
was rougheningprogressive
-
were rougheningprogressive
-
had been rougheningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of roughen
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.
See Examples For:
Red whirls on this rabbit’s tongue are filiform papillae, which roughen the tongue and help move food around the mouth.
From New York Times ● May 21, 2024
The general idea is that ground surfaces roughen after the mass movement of rocks and soil, so that landslide deposits are the roughest right after the landslide occurs and become smoother over time.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 7, 2023
The narrative swerves enough to thrillingly roughen the course of love, and the characters are so memorable that readers will yearn for a third book.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 1, 2015
“If you’re going out, I would apply Conformist Hair Paste to roughen up the texture,” he says.
From Forbes ● Jun. 10, 2014
The alkalies, in combining with sand, commence their action on the surfaces of the particles, and roughen them—rust them as it were.
From The Elements of Agriculture A Book for Young Farmers, with Questions Prepared for the Use of Schools by George E. (George Edwin) Waring
Wells has a deep, oaky baritone that roughens to a grumble in its lower register.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 4, 2019
"It roughens the hands, and when a girl has hands like yours——" "I know, mama."
From Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington
Struggling against the savageness of man and nature must have roughened our manners a little, just as working on the ground roughens one's hands.
From The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1 by Various
You had better get on board now, before the sea roughens.
From The Billow and the Rock by E.J. Wheeler
Reproving puts on a stern aspect, roughens the voice, and is accompanied with gestures not much different from those of Threatening, but not so lively.
From The Young Gentleman and Lady's Monitor, and English Teacher's Assistant by John Hamilton Moore
Auto-tune aside, fans will notice that Thorn's voice has deepened and roughened.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2023
To achieve the shells’ luminous surfaces, Utzon covered them with more than a million handcrafted ceramic tiles, their surfaces roughened by trace amounts of crushed stone, a technique inspired by Japanese pottery.
From New York Times ● Aug. 2, 2021
It was more like a shift in temperature or light, a texture inside of me that roughened.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2021
He sang his conversational lyrics in a voice roughened by a hard-luck life, particularly after throat cancer left him with a disfigured jaw.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 7, 2020
Her voice was bold and roughened by weather, but it still retained a brassy shine.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
Though it may seem counterintuitive, roughening a ball’s surface delays the separation of the boundary layer and keeps a ball in turbulent flow longer.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 19, 2022
“When I close my eyes, I can still feel that moment,” said the other daughter, Samia, her voice roughening as her eyes filled with tears.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2022
Instead he interprets traditional Yolngu chants, raising and roughening his gentle voice while a Western orchestra plays churning, minimalist accompaniments around him.
From New York Times ● Jul. 13, 2018
Wilmington’s Council had been closing shortfalls of 5 percent to 10 percent for several years, and the compounding effect was roughening the edges of a city that aggressively marketed its coastal quality of life.
From New York Times ● Jul. 5, 2011
My throat began to ache and my voice dropped, roughening into a deep crackle, as if my vocal cords had turned to sandpaper.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
