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

One of the sources said over 850 have been used so far in the conflict, a figure that is roughly nine times the number of Tomahawks the Pentagon buys on average each year. —CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026

Reporting 61 events recorded at the 25+ report threshold versus a 2021-2025 average of roughly 43 – up about 42%, according to the American Meteor Society. —Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2026

The five-story structure features four bedrooms and an equal number of bathrooms in roughly 4,500 square feet. —Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 27 Mar. 2026

The 10-day, roughly 600,000-mile (965,600-kilometer) trip that’s set to launch as soon as April will expose the crew to dangerous levels of radiation. —Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for roughly

• gruffly