ROUGHLY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does roughly mean? 

• ROUGHLY (adverb)
  The adverb ROUGHLY has 3 senses:

1. (of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct

2. with roughness or violence ('rough' is an informal variant for 'roughly')

3. with rough motion as over a rough surface

  Familiarity information: ROUGHLY used as an adverb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ROUGHLY (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct

Synonyms:

about; approximately; around; close to; just about; more or less; or so; roughly; some

Context example:

20 or so people were at the party

Sense 2

Meaning:

With roughness or violence ('rough' is an informal variant for 'roughly')

Synonyms:

rough; roughly

Context example:

they treated him rough

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

Pertainym:

rough (ready and able to resort to force or violence)

Sense 3

Meaning:

With rough motion as over a rough surface

Synonyms:

rough; roughly

Context example:

ride rough

Pertainym:

rough (having or caused by an irregular surface)

 Context examples 

"Go along an' get your breakfast," she said roughly, though secretly pleased.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

His height I know that you might roughly judge from the length of his stride.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was a rustling, as if he had shaken the sick man roughly by the shoulder.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The second, KSN 2011d, is roughly 500 times the size of our sun and around 1.2 billion light-years away.

(Kepler Catches Early Flash of an Exploding Star, NASA)

“Why do you answer me so roughly?” I replied.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

According to the report, the two-spray process is complete in under five minutes and lasts for roughly 500 flushes before requiring reapplication.

(Materials scientists invent new coating for self-cleaning, water-efficient toilets, Wikinews)

The scientists estimated that roughly 150 million people might be at risk of protein or zinc deficiency by 2050.

(Planet-Warming Gases Make Some Food Less Nutritious, Study Says, Steve Baragona/VOA)

The feature is roughly 6,800 miles across.

(Hubble Reveals Dynamic Atmospheres of Uranus, Neptune, NASA)

Van Helsing roughly put the facts before us first:—The Czarina Catherine left the Thames yesterday morning.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Therefore, I brought them back, and on the first day at home I took one round to Spink's, and asked him to have it roughly cut and valued.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)