as in rough
hastily or roughly constructed
the announcement of his candidacy was made from a rough-and-tumble stage put together just that morning
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in brawl
a rough and often noisy fight usually involving several people
a rough-and-tumble broke out among the fans in the stands
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rough-and-tumble
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
Nick Caruso, TVLine, 30 July 2025
And there was nothing really rough-and-tumble about that environment.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for rough-and-tumble
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
Noun
In the competition series’ Season 41 premiere, 16 veterans are each paired with a rookie partner for a rough-and-tumble battle for all the glory.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 30 July 2025
And there was nothing really rough-and-tumble about that environment.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for rough-and-tumble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough-and-tumble
Adjective
-
This usually happens for a variety of reasons, including love biting, fear, anxiety, being a pet, frustration, rough play, social pressure, illness, or pain.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
-
The Dolphins won six of eight after that rough start last season, and the team hopes that turnaround can be duplicated.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Harvey was just 11 years old when that fight occurred, but her teammate and Team USA leader Hilary Knight was there, and involved in the brawl.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The film followed Chan Lok-kwun (Raymond Lam), a mainland refugee trying to pay his way to a fake ID by winning bare-knuckle brawls.—
Marcus Lim,
Variety,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
What resulted is one of the most comic, counterproductive, and clumsy episodes in the long history of British efforts to deal with Ireland.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
29 Oct. 2025
-
So, how did Musk go from a champion of the internet’s go-to reference resource to this clumsy attempt at killing it?—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Big Oil leaders Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and Shell continue to hike their crude oil production volumes from West Texas’s Permian Basin to the Gulf of Mexico to deepwater Guyana despite concerns of a rising global oil glut as OPEC nations keep exporting more barrels each month.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
31 Oct. 2025
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Burke gave the only 9 on a panel full of 10s, prompting the crude call out.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Combined with not intervening too often, this will minimize the number of rude responses.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Basil, of course, is far from perfect, a rude, neurotic, accident-prone manager who insults guests, hides his gambling winnings from his wife and organizes an elaborate impersonation of her when his surprise anniversary party backfires.—
Rhett Bartlett,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Five seasons of Premier League football have seen Watkins progress from a rough-and-ready channel runner into a striker of prowess.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
30 July 2025
-
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
Adjective
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Whether towing its matching trailer or not, the Elevance SUV is carefully designed for moving confidently from city streets to primitive stretches of off-road.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
29 Oct. 2025
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The study also explains why some primitive meteorites formed millions of years later than the first solid bodies in the solar system.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rough-and-tumble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough-and-tumble. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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