rugged
[ruhg-id]
- having a roughly broken, rocky, hilly, or jagged surface: rugged ground.
- (of a face) wrinkled or furrowed, as by experience or the endurance of hardship.
- roughly irregular, heavy, or hard in outline or form; craggy: Lincoln's rugged features.
- rough, harsh, or stern, as persons or nature.
- full of hardship and trouble; severe; hard; trying: a rugged life.
- tempestuous; stormy: rugged weather.
- harsh to the ear: rugged sounds.
- rude, uncultivated, or unrefined.
- homely or plain: rugged fare.
- capable of enduring hardship, wear, etc.; strong and tough: rugged floor covering; a rugged lumberjack.
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Origin of rugged
Synonyms
See more synonyms for rugged on Thesaurus.com1. uneven, irregular, craggy. 4. austere. 6. turbulent. 7. grating, cacophonous. 8. unpolished, crude.
Antonyms
1. smooth. 4. mild. 10. frail.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ruggedness
Contemporary Examples
But thanks to work done in the 1960s and 1970s, “it is still seen as a representation of American Western ruggedness.”
Historical Examples
There is no ruggedness in the meter, no violence in the stream of images.
Life ImmovableKostes Palamas
Sometimes we like ruggedness, and again we like things made easy.
The Complete Essays of C. D. WarnerCharles Dudley Warner
Luther also was thought by some to be a mere compound of violence and ruggedness.
CharacterSamuel Smiles
You might cite the ruggedness of oaks and the grimness of crags as masculine.
The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Volume 2Elizabeth Bisland
Nothing can convey an idea of the grandeur and ruggedness of the mountains.
Mount RainierVarious
rugged
- having an uneven or jagged surface
- rocky or steeprugged scenery
- (of the face) strong-featured or furrowed
- rough, severe, or stern in character
- without refinement or culture; ruderugged manners
- involving hardship; harshhe leads a rugged life in the mountains
- difficult or harda rugged test
- (of equipment, machines, etc) designed to withstand rough treatment or use in rough conditionsa handheld rugged computer which can survive being submerged in water
- mainly US and Canadian sturdy or strong; robust
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Word Origin
C14: from Scandinavian; compare Swedish rugga to make 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
Word Origin and History for ruggedness
rugged
adj.
c.1300, "rough, shaggy, careworn" (originally of animals), from Old Norse rogg "shaggy tuft" (see rug). "The precise relationship to ragged is not quite clear, but the stem is no doubt ultimately the same" [OED]. Meaning "vigorous, strong, robust" is American English, by 1848.
We were challenged with a peace-time choice between the American system of rugged individualism and a European philosophy of diametrically opposed doctrines -- doctrines of paternalism and state socialism. [Herbert Hoover, speech in New York, Oct. 22, 1928]
Hoover said the phrase was not his own, and it is attested from 1897, though not in a patriotic context. Related: Ruggedly; ruggedness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper