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
Since then, the 6ft 4in (193cm) Yorkshireman, released by Huddersfield Town as a youngster for being too small, had evolved from a rough-and-ready forward to become one of the lower leagues’ most reliable target men, with a reputation for delivering big goals at big moments.
—
Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
James meets rough-and-ready cowboy Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) upon arrival in Fort Worth and joins his wagon train heading West.
—Rendy Jones, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Feb. 2026
Black South African soccer developed its own clubs, its own superstars, and its own rough-and-ready style.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
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
Star chefs from Japan and abroad are shaking up the dining scene with inventive gastronomy, though delicious casual eats from rough-and-ready street stalls and mom-and-pop shops are still Osaka's calling card.
—Melinda Joe, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Mar. 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
But grit, rawness and dirty-realist poetry can be elusive elements to conjure, even in a production that cultivates those qualities with a rough-and-ready feel for the scrappy, sweaty storytelling of another era.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026
James meets rough-and-ready cowboy Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) upon arrival in Fort Worth and joins his wagon train heading West.
—Rendy Jones, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Feb. 2026
Black South African soccer developed its own clubs, its own superstars, and its own rough-and-ready style.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
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
Star chefs from Japan and abroad are shaking up the dining scene with inventive gastronomy, though delicious casual eats from rough-and-ready street stalls and mom-and-pop shops are still Osaka's calling card.
—Melinda Joe, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Mar. 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
But grit, rawness and dirty-realist poetry can be elusive elements to conjure, even in a production that cultivates those qualities with a rough-and-ready feel for the scrappy, sweaty storytelling of another era.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough-and-ready
Adjective
-
Even young Oklahoma City required a clumsy postseason audition.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The driver and his accomplice then mounted a clumsy getaway that resulted in their scooter crashing about three blocks from the scene, cops said.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The Heat has also now allowed more than 120 points in eight of the 10 games during this rough 2-8 stretch.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The Italian coast guard operated in the Libyan search and rescue area amid rough weather conditions, a spokesman said on Wednesday.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Rain, April’s rude house guest, visits erratically and unannounced.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Some lawyers think a video shows a Texas judge being rude to an IT worker.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
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
-
For example, synthetic blastoids develop a blastocoel cavity and the three main cell types (epiblast, trophectoderm, and primitive endoderm) within one week, just like natural blastocysts.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Mar. 2026
-
There are nine primitive, tent-only sites without electric access.—
Aurora Beacon-News,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
By the late 1950s, Houdry had invented a rudimentary catalytic converter.—
Ann E. Carlson,
The Conversation,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The crash occurred at Tempe in northern Greece after a passenger train was placed on the wrong track, into the path of an oncoming freight train — an astonishing lapse on a rudimentary rail network.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
But the arc — first raising expectations for a big reveal, then declaring there was nothing to see, and ultimately a forced, flawed document dump — was a stubbornly problematic storyline that ran through her time as attorney general.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Now a national policy that risks worsening care and eroding patient dignity is being justified by a single, flawed data point.—
Diego Schaps,
STAT,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Nowhere is that trial and error more evident than at our country’s historic sites, many of which are engaged with making collective narratives out of an imperfect past.—
Beverly Gage,
The Atlantic,
5 Apr. 2026
-
This means hemlines are rising, metallics are back in the spotlight and overall hair and makeup is imperfect.—
Angela Velasquez,
Footwear News,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rough-and-ready.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough-and-ready. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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