1 ADJ If food, wood, or another substance is rotten , it has decayed and can no longer be used. □ The smell outside this building is overwhelming–like rotten eggs.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe something as rotten , you think it is very unpleasant or of very poor quality. [INFORMAL ] □ I personally think it's a rotten idea.
3 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe someone as rotten , you are insulting them or criticizing them because you think that they are very unpleasant or unkind. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ You rotten swine! How dare you?
4 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you feel rotten , you feel bad, either because you are ill or because you are sorry about something. [INFORMAL ] □ I had glandular fever and spent that year feeling rotten.
ro t|ten a p|ple (rotten apples ) N‑COUNT You can use rotten apple to talk about a person who is dishonest and therefore causes a lot of problems for the group or organization they belong to. □ Police corruption is not just a few rotten apples.
rot|ter /rɒ tə r / (rotters ) N‑COUNT If you call someone a rotter , you are criticizing them because you think that they have behaved in a very unkind or mean way. [BRIT , INFORMAL , OLD-FASHIONED , DISAPPROVAL ]
Rott|wei|ler /rɒ tva I lə r / (Rottweilers ) in BRIT, also use rottweiler N‑COUNT A Rottweiler is a large black and brown breed of dog which is often used as a guard dog.
ro|tund /roʊtʌ nd/ ADJ If someone is rotund , they are round and fat. [FORMAL ] □ A rotund, smiling, red-faced gentleman appeared.
ro|tun|da /roʊtʌ ndə/ (rotundas ) N‑COUNT A rotunda is a round building or room, especially one with a round bowl-shaped roof.
rou|ble /ruː b ə l/ (roubles ) N‑COUNT The rouble is the unit of money that is used in Russia and some of the other republics that form the Commonwealth of Independent States.
rouge /ruː ʒ/ (rouges , rouging , rouged )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Rouge is a red powder or cream which women and actors can put on their cheeks in order to give them more colour. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
2 VERB If a woman or an actor rouges their cheeks or lips, they put red powder or cream on them to give them more colour. □ [V n] Florentine women rouged their earlobes. □ [V -ed] She had curly black hair and rouged cheeks.
rough ◆◇◇ /rʌ f/ (rougher , roughest , roughs , roughing , roughed )
1 ADJ If a surface is rough , it is uneven and not smooth. □ His hands were rough and calloused, from years of karate practice. ● rough|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] She rested her cheek against the roughness of his jacket.
2 ADJ You say that people or their actions are rough when they use too much force and not enough care or gentleness. □ Rugby's a rough game at the best of times. ● rough|ly ADV □ A hand roughly pushed him aside. ● rough|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ He regretted his roughness.
3 ADJ A rough area, city, school, or other place is unpleasant and dangerous because there is a lot of violence or crime there. □ It was quite a rough part of our town.
4 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you say that someone has had a rough time, you mean that they have had some difficult or unpleasant experiences. □ All women have a rough time in our society.
5 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you feel rough , you feel ill. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ The virus won't go away and the lad is still feeling a bit rough.
6 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A rough calculation or guess is approximately correct, but not exact. □ We were only able to make a rough estimate of how much fuel would be required. ● rough|ly ADV □ Gambling and tourism pay roughly half the entire state budget.
7 ADJ If you give someone a rough idea, description, or drawing of something, you indicate only the most important features, without much detail. □ I've got a rough idea of what he looks like. ● rough|ly ADV [ADV after v] □ He knew roughly what was about to be said. □ Roughly speaking, a scientific humanist is somebody who believes in science and in humanity but not in God.
8 ADJ You can say that something is rough when it is not neat and well made. □ …a rough wooden table. ● rough|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to the casserole.
9 ADJ If the sea or the weather at sea is rough , the weather is windy or stormy and there are very big waves. □ A fishing vessel and a cargo ship collided in rough seas.
10 ADV [ADV after v] When people sleep or live rough , they sleep out of doors, usually because they have no home. [BRIT ] □ It makes me so sad when I see young people begging or sleeping rough on the streets.
11 VERB If you have to rough it, you have to live without the possessions and comforts that you normally have. □ [V it ] You won't be roughing it; each room comes equipped with a telephone and a 3-channel radio.
12 rough justice → see justice SYNONYMS rough ADJ
1
uneven: He staggered on the uneven surface of the car park.
rugged: …rugged mountainous terrain.
jagged: …jagged black cliffs.
bumpy: …bumpy cobbled streets.
coarse: …a jacket made of very coarse cloth.
2
brutaclass="underline" He took an anguished breath. He had to be brutal and say it.
harsh: …the cold, harsh cruelty of her husband.
6