roughly

adverb

rough·​ly ˈrə-flē 

1

: in a rough manner: such as

a

: with harshness or violence

treated the prisoner roughly

b

: in crude fashion : imperfectly

roughly dressed lumber

2

: without completeness or exactness : approximately

roughly 20 percent

Synonyms of roughly

• approximately
• about
• around

Examples of roughly in a Sentence

Roughly translated, it means “hurry up!”.

The new product is modeled roughly on an earlier design.

He threw the package roughly in the truck.

The guard told us roughly that we had to stand back.

Recent Examples on the Web

Elsewhere, Dustin Moskovitz, the Facebook and Asana co-founder gave roughly $413,000 to the DNC during the 2024 cycle, alongside $50 million to Future Forward and $929,600 to the Harris Victory Fund. — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026

Contract pharmacies grew from roughly 1,300 in 2010 to more than 31,000 by mid-2026, dominated by the largest chains. — Casey B. Mulligan, STAT, 8 Oct. 2026

And in 2008, the owner of a formalwear company won a roughly $850,000 judgment against Peter over unpaid loans to finance his business. — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2026

Resignations fell by about a quarter in 2025 to 2,336, roughly 3% of employees. — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for roughly

• gruffly