as in clumsy
hastily or roughly constructed
a rough-and-ready shack that the explorers threw together as winter approached
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Recent Examples of rough-and-ready
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
Their rough-and-ready vérité shooting style creates an intimacy with the subject that deepens the emotional response to music that for many of us is ingrained in our DNA.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Nov. 2024
James meets rough-and-ready cowboy Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) upon arrival in Fort Worth and joins his wagon train heading West.
—Rendy Jones, EW.com, 9 Aug. 2024
That means looks or labels that are forged in the sweat and heat of the city’s legendary nightlife and its edgy, rough-and-ready street style.
—Cathrin Schaer, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019
As Singer’s book documents, Siskel and Ebert’s frequent riffs about their show amount to a rough-and-ready touchstone—even a questionnaire—for critics of all stripes to ponder.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 17 Nov. 2023
Iteration is crucial in video-game design Typically a video-game project starts with the team throwing together a few rough-and-ready first drafts to make sure the concept works.
—IEEE Spectrum, 26 June 2023
They're all looked after by their gruff, rough-and-ready sometimes-mama, Raleigh (Laurie Metcalf).
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 2 June 2023
Prototypes from any company are often very rough-and-ready at the beginning.
—David Phelan, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2023
Scotty Reiss, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
Their rough-and-ready vérité shooting style creates an intimacy with the subject that deepens the emotional response to music that for many of us is ingrained in our DNA.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Nov. 2024
James meets rough-and-ready cowboy Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) upon arrival in Fort Worth and joins his wagon train heading West.
—Rendy Jones, EW.com, 9 Aug. 2024
That means looks or labels that are forged in the sweat and heat of the city’s legendary nightlife and its edgy, rough-and-ready street style.
—Cathrin Schaer, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019
As Singer’s book documents, Siskel and Ebert’s frequent riffs about their show amount to a rough-and-ready touchstone—even a questionnaire—for critics of all stripes to ponder.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 17 Nov. 2023
Iteration is crucial in video-game design Typically a video-game project starts with the team throwing together a few rough-and-ready first drafts to make sure the concept works.
—IEEE Spectrum, 26 June 2023
They're all looked after by their gruff, rough-and-ready sometimes-mama, Raleigh (Laurie Metcalf).
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 2 June 2023
Prototypes from any company are often very rough-and-ready at the beginning.
—David Phelan, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough-and-ready
Adjective
-
These transitions, between past and present, are sometimes clumsy but sometimes genuinely sweet, as with an old letter that near-simultaneously is dictated and written, received and read, and finally rediscovered (and only partially understood) in the 21st century.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
27 May 2025
-
Wildlife officials helped remove a black bear found hanging out in the kitchen of a Kentucky home after an impressive, yet clumsy break-in, photos show.—
Mitchell Willetts,
Kansas City Star,
25 May 2025
Adjective
-
The 200 square miles of surrounding coral reefs proved rough for mariners, but divers now reap the benefits with some 300 shipwrecks to explore, from the 192-foot American schooner Constellation that sank during World War II to the Mary Celestia, a Civil War era paddle-wheeler.—
Robb Report Studio,
Robb Report,
22 May 2025
-
That gave me my confidence back after a pretty rough departure from NBC.—
Angela Andaloro,
People.com,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
Such a fund holds derivatives tied to the prices of a basket of physical assets—crude oil, natural gas, precious metals, base metals, grains, livestock.—
William Baldwin,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
-
Subscribe The core inflation is expected to ease in the coming months due to lower crude oil prices and the yen’s appreciation, said Masato Koike, economist at Sompo Institute Plus.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
Hintz, meanwhile, got a rude welcome back early in Game 4 when Evan Bouchard slashed him right in the same area that Darnell Nurse injured him in Game 2.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
27 May 2025
-
And in the case of fully autonomous EVs, it might be considered rude to expect human passengers to get out and cable a robotaxi to a supercharger for a quick top up on the way to the airport.—
Paul Ridden
May 23,
New Atlas,
23 May 2025
Adjective
-
The trappings of the Senate were another world from Mr. Abourezk’s rough-and-tumble childhood on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, where his Lebanese parents had immigrated and ran a general store.—
STEPHEN GROVES,
BostonGlobe.com,
25 Feb. 2023
-
The startup’s rough-and-tumble experiments are even more telling.—
Justine Calma,
The Verge,
24 Feb. 2023
Adjective
-
Houde said these mammoth animals are a primitive group of proboscideans ('elephantoids') from which modern elephants evolved.—
Joseph J. Kolb,
Fox News,
18 July 2017
-
Many are primitive and remote, and don’t have restrooms or water.—
OregonLive.com,
OregonLive.com,
12 July 2017
Adjective
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And no, this doesn't mean turning the office into a place full of rudimentary and shallow perks.—
Julian Hayes II,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2025
-
His projections were rudimentary by today’s standards, but at the time were ahead of the curve.—
David Hill,
Rolling Stone,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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State auditors later concluded in October 2017 that the district, under Woodard’s leadership, had not only improperly authorized charter schools outside its boundaries but had conducted flawed oversight and reviews of charter petitions.—
Kristen Taketa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 May 2025
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Even flawed testing provides valuable information — including how tests might be better written.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
22 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rough-and-ready.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough-and-ready. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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