roughness

/ˈɹʌf.nəs/

//ˈɹʌf.nəs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"roughness" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“roughness” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #36,741. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#36,741
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The property of being rough, coarseness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-roughness · roughness · English

roughness · rank #36,741 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #36,741
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH Rommel

Nearest frequency peer: Rommel (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “roughness”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “roughness” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for roughness
PropertyValue
Headwordroughness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɹʌf.nəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#36,741
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “roughness”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).roughnesslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Rommel” (#36,740), “Rudi” (#36,742), “rho” (#36,739). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “roughness” is #36,741. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around roughness (IPA /ˈɹʌf.nəs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #36,741 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for roughness, with forms such as "orughness", "roguhness", and "rougghness". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English roughnes /roughnesse. By surface analysis, rough + -ness. Compare Old English hrēohnes (“roughness”). The correct English form is roughness, spelled R-O-U-G-H-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The property of being rough, coarseness.
  2. 2
    Something that is rough; a rough spot.
  3. 3
    Roughage; coarse fodder.
  4. 4
    Abundance, especially of food.
  5. 5
    A measure of how rough something is, such as a surface

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how roughness appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The roughness of the road made me wonder if my car would fall apart.
  2. A variety of suitable methods for surface inspection are available to detect topographical defects induced by surface roughnesses such as scratches, digs, inclusions and spatters.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English roughnes /roughnesse. By surface analysis, rough + -ness. Compare Old English hrēohnes (“roughness”).

This word in other languages

aspereza(Español)Grobheit(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • orughness
  • roguhness
  • rougghness
  • roughenss
  • roughhness
  • roughnes
  • roughnness
  • roughnses
  • rougnhess
  • rouhgness
  • rroughness
  • ruoghness

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of roughness - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

orughness2roguhness2rougghness1roughenss2roughhness1roughnes1roughnness1roughnses2
Edit distance from "roughness"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "roughness"?
"roughness" is spelled R-O-U-G-H-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹʌf.nəs/.
What does "roughness" mean?
As a noun, "roughness" means: The property of being rough, coarseness.
What are common misspellings of "roughness"?
Common misspellings include "orughness", "roguhness", "rougghness", "roughenss", "roughhness". The correct spelling is "roughness".
How do you pronounce "roughness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "roughness" is /ˈɹʌf.nəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "roughness"?
Inherited from Middle English roughnes /roughnesse. By surface analysis, rough + -ness. Compare Old English hrēohnes (“roughness”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "roughness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

responder#36,736reshuffle#36,735surfboard#36,770pavements#36,705

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

relaying12 variantsseducing12 variantstelecoms12 variantsTravolta12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list