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

• 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

Between 2011 and 2022, roughly 380 Kansas drivers had the designation on the front of their license changed, according to Appeals Court Judge Karen Arnold-Burger, who authored the June ruling against Kobach. —Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2025

According to videos, officers waited roughly 20 seconds before detaining people. —Quinlan Bentley, Cincinnati Enquirer, 2 Oct. 2025

The impact was so violent, investigators said, that the truck’s steering wheel snapped off and landed roughly 50 feet away from the wreck. —Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2025

October's supermoon is the first one of the year, in which the moon will be roughly 224,107 miles away from our planet, according to NASA. —John Tufts, IndyStar, 2 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for roughly

• gruffly