roughish

[ ruhf-ish ]

/ ˈrʌf ɪʃ /

Save This Word!

adjective

rather rough: a roughish sea.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of roughish

First recorded in 1755–65; rough + -ish¹

Words nearby roughish

rough-hew, roughhouse, roughie, roughing-in, roughing mill, roughish, rough it, rough-legged buzzard, rough-legged hawk, rough lemon, rough lock

How to use roughish in a sentence

When he was doing the Mallarm, he put the paper down on a roughish book cover.
The Life of James McNeill Whistler|Elizabeth Robins Pennell
At last they came in sight of a large steamer laboring heavily with a roughish sea and uncertain wind.
A Noble Woman|Ann S. Stephens
He could make pretty good play in thick country, and ride a roughish horse, too.
Robbery Under Arms|Thomas Alexander Browne, AKA Rolf Boldrewood
Starlight had changed his clothes, and was dressed like a swell—away on a roughish trip, but still like a swell.
Robbery Under Arms|Thomas Alexander Browne, AKA Rolf Boldrewood

It's a roughish crossing at Slatey Bar,' and he pointed towards the river, which we could plainly hear rushing over a rocky bed.
Robbery Under Arms|Thomas Alexander Browne, AKA Rolf Boldrewood

British Dictionary definitions for roughish

roughish

/ (ˈrʌfɪʃ) /

adjective

somewhat rough

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