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

• about
• approximately
• around
• like
• more or less
• much
• near
• plus or minus
• say
• some

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

In just over a year, the initiative boasted roughly 10 million members, representing the majority of Poland’s workforce. —Dan Pontefract, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025

Israel had already cut off the supply of food, fuel, and humanitarian aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians, aiming to pressure Hamas over ceasefire negotiations. —Wafaa Shurafa, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2025

But since Trump’s inauguration, about 80% of its roughly 2,500 agents have been ordered to take on at least some immigration enforcement tasks, two officials familiar with ATF's operations said. —Brad Heath, Joshua Schneyer, Marisa Taylor, Sarah N. Lynch, Mike Spector, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2025

The new district has a Black voting age population of roughly 51%. —Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 22 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for roughly

• gruffly