rough-and-ready

adjective

ˌrə-fən-ˈre-dē How to pronounce rough-and-ready (audio)
Definition of rough-and-readynext
as in clumsy
hastily or roughly constructed a rough-and-ready shack that the explorers threw together as winter approached

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rough-and-ready James meets rough-and-ready cowboy Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) upon arrival in Fort Worth and joins his wagon train heading West. — Rendy Jones, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Feb. 2026 Black South African soccer developed its own clubs, its own superstars, and its own rough-and-ready style. — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026 The brand showed off its novel approach to creating a modern version of a vintage Land Rover Defender replete with switch panels for off-road performance and accessories and a rough-and-ready chassis design. — Scotty Reiss, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025 Star chefs from Japan and abroad are shaking up the dining scene with inventive gastronomy, though delicious casual eats from rough-and-ready street stalls and mom-and-pop shops are still Osaka's calling card. — Melinda Joe, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rough-and-ready
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough-and-ready
  1. clumsy
  2. rough
  3. rude
  4. rough-and-tumble
  5. primitive
  6. rudimentary
  7. flawed
  8. imperfect
Adjective
  • One of the clumsiest parts of Klosterman’s book is his attempts at political punditry.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Feed your head Neagley gets off to a sluggish start, with a workmanlike, rather clumsy first episode largely spent establishing the main characters and central plot—and the writers lean a bit too hard on constant Chicago callbacks.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of clumsy
Adjective
  • Lemmo With this kind of kit, the Lemmo 3 should be up to the task of tackling steep inclines and all manner of rough terrain.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The controls and graphics are pretty rough on GameCube, though.
    — Verge Staff, The Verge, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of rough
Adjective
  • Painfully aware of this, Shawn waited for one of the drunk old men to comment, heckle, make one of those incomprehensible jokes that drew rude laughter from adults.
    — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
  • By the same token, French-style discretion can be interpreted by American visitors as inattentive and rude.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of rude
Adjective
  • The startup’s rough-and-tumble experiments are even more telling.
    — Justine Calma, The Verge, 24 Feb. 2023
Definition of rough-and-tumble
Adjective
  • When our skin senses heat, those signals travel to a primitive part of the brain that tells our body to cool down.
    — Will Stone, NPR, 5 Oct. 2026
  • There’s a primitive part of our brains that still fears being eaten by something bigger than us.
    — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of primitive
Adjective
  • The kitchenette is rudimentary with a mini fridge, stovetop (no oven), a sink, and a few cooking essentials, including two different coffee makers.
    — Hannah Towey, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2026
  • This sort of classification task is something that rudimentary AI, or machine learning systems, have handled for decades.
    — Wen Shao, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of rudimentary
Adjective
  • De Brigard would be the first to tell you that his recollection of that day may be flawed.
    — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2026
  • And there is precedent for such a return because Romo is not the first flawed NFL analyst who faced legal troubles and worked again.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of flawed
Adjective
  • The environment surrounding supply chains is constantly changing, which means leaders are constantly evaluating new information and making decisions with imperfect visibility.
    — Seema Phull, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • That makes Stratego an imperfect-information game, just like poker, which computers cracked years ago.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of imperfect

Browse Nearby Words

rough
rough-and-ready
rough-and-tumble
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Cite this Entry

“Rough-and-ready.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough-and-ready. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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