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PlainSpell

rough

/ɹʌf/adjective, noun, verb, adverb

rough is spelled R-O-U-G-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 31 times per million words in written English, the 3,052nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “rough vs ruff” about 390 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, rough means “Not smooth; uneven” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in rough?

Letters5: R-O-U-G-H
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing31 times per million words; the 3,052nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Sounds like
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is rough?

Rough appears 31 times per million words in written English, the 3,052nd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce rough?

  • US /ɹʌf/
  • Australia /ɹɐf/
  • /ɹʊf/

Rough has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ruff.wav, En-us-rough.ogg, En-us-rough.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with rough

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

rough vs ruff390 G

Sounds like: ruff (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Also written: ruff.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with rough?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as rough from its last stressed vowel (/ʌf/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of rough

  • rougher comparative
  • roughest superlative
  • ruff
  • roughs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • roughing participle, present
  • roughed participle, past
  • more rough comparative
  • most rough superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does rough mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Not smooth; uneven.

    rough hands

  2. 2

    Approximate; hasty or careless; not finished.

    a rough copy

  3. 3

    Turbulent.

    rough sea

  4. 4

    Difficult; trying.

    Being a teenager nowadays can be rough.

  5. 5

    Crude; unrefined.

    His manners are a bit rough, but he means well.

  6. 6

    Worn; shabby; weather-beaten.

  7. 7

    Having socio-economic problems, hence possibly dangerous.

    the rough bit of town

  8. 8

    Violent; not careful or subtle.

    rough words

noun

  1. 1

    The unmowed part of a golf course.

  2. 2

    A rude fellow; a coarse bully; a rowdy.

  3. 3

    A scuffed and roughened area of the pitch, where the bowler's feet fall, used as a target by spin bowlers because of its unpredictable bounce.

  4. 4

    The raw material from which faceted or cabochon gems are created.

  5. 5

    A quick sketch, similar to a thumbnail but larger and more detailed, used for artistic brainstorming.

  6. 6

    obsoleteBoisterous weather.

  7. 7

    A piece inserted in a horseshoe to keep the animal from slipping.

verb

  1. 1

    To create in an approximate form.

    Rough in the shape first, then polish the details.

  2. 2

    To break the rules by being excessively violent.

    […] roughing is not a part of the sport, and will not be tolerated. Referees will not permit unfair practices that may cause injury to a contestant, and are held strictly responsible for enforcing these rules.

  3. 3

    To commit the offense of roughing, i.e. to punch another player.

  4. 4

    To render rough; to roughen.

  5. 5

    To break in (a horse, etc.), especially for military purposes.

  6. 6

    To endure primitive conditions.

    to rough it

  7. 7

    To roughen a horse's shoes to keep the animal from slipping.

adverb

  1. 1

    In a rough manner; rudely; roughly.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Rough in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchrude, rugueux, brut (not smooth), approximatif, grossier, brouillon (approximate)
Germanrau, grob (not smooth), roh (crude, unrefined), Rough (unmowed part of golf-course)
Portugueseáspero (not smooth), aproximado (approximate), grosseiro (crude, unrefined), turbulento (turbulent), duro, difícil (difficult)
Spanisháspero, cerdoso (not smooth), tosco (crude, unrefined), ríspido (violent)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does rough come from?

From Middle English rough, roughe, roȝe, row, rou, ru, ruȝ, ruh, from Old English rūg, rūh, from Proto-Germanic *rūhaz.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after rough