rugged
/ˈɹʌɡ.ɪd/adjective, verb
rugged is spelled R-U-G-G-E-D: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.0 times per million words in written English, the 12,940th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, rugged means “Broken into sharp or irregular points; uneven; not smooth; rough” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in rugged?
| Letters | 6: R-U-G-G-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.0 times per million words; the 12,940th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is rugged?
Rugged appears 4.0 times per million words in written English, the 12,940th 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 rugged?
- /ˈɹʌɡ.ɪd/
As an adjective (“Having a rug or rugs”): /ɹʌɡd/.
Rugged has 2 syllables (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: En-us-rugged.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-rugged_(past).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with rugged?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as rugged.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: grudge.
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 rugged
- more rugged comparative
- most rugged superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rugged mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Broken into sharp or irregular points; uneven; not smooth; rough.
- 2
Not neat or regular; irregular, uneven.
- 3
Rough with bristly hair; shaggy.
- 4
Strong, sturdy, well-built.
- 5
Rocky and bare of plantlife.
- 6
Harsh; austere; hard
- 7
Stormy; turbulent; tempestuous
- 8
Harsh; grating; unpleasant sounding or looking
- 9
Having a rug or rugs.
- 10
Covered with a rug.
Please put sharp objects on the rugged shelf.
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of rug
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rugged in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rugueux , irrégulier , sévère , turbulent, tempétueux , hargneux |
| German | rau, schroff, zerklüftet , ruppig, robust |
| Portuguese | áspero, acidentado , bruto , felpudo , robusto |
| Spanish | filudo, escabroso , despelotado, a lo natural, al lote , velludo |
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 rugged come from?
From Middle English rugged, roggyd, ruggyd, derived from Old Norse rǫgg (“tuft, shagginess”), equivalent to rug (“rough, woollen material”) + -ed. Compare Old Swedish ruggoter (“wrinkled”), Swedish rugga (“to roughen”), Swedish ruggig (“shaggy”), Icelandic rögg (“shagginess”), Old Norse raggaðr (“tufted”), dialectal Danish raggad (“shaggy”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).