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
Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 6 June 2025
Where Mraz and his brassy Super Band were polished, note-perfect and exuded an infectiously upbeat vibe, 4 Non Blondes’ uneven 13-song set was alternately rousing and rough-and-tumble.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 May 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
Those who remember the truculence of those rough-and-tumble Ducks know how much of a sacrifice that was.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 6 June 2025
Where Mraz and his brassy Super Band were polished, note-perfect and exuded an infectiously upbeat vibe, 4 Non Blondes’ uneven 13-song set was alternately rousing and rough-and-tumble.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rough-and-tumble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough-and-tumble
Adjective
-
After a rough outing Thursday, though, Stewart will pitch again for OKC on Sunday.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
20 Sep. 2025
-
Then there was a rough outing Week 2 at Indianapolis in which he and Strnad each were exposed in coverage and targeted by a Colts offense that racked up 447 yards and operated extensively through running back Jonathan Taylor and tight end Tyler Warren.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
That heated game ended in a post-match brawl that included Inter Miami players and a Seattle staff member throwing punches and Miami forward Luis Suarez spitting on a Sounders security official.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
17 Sep. 2025
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McNamara’s shooting of Green quickly garnered controversy after it was established — by witnesses and security video — that Green was a peacemaker in a brawl that erupted inside the La Victoria restaurant next to San Jose State University, where Green had done a campus visit earlier in the day.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In the afterglow of the finale, outlets hit publish on SEO-bait around who did what, and clumsy think pieces like this one followed.—
Thomas Page,
CNN Money,
18 Sep. 2025
-
His paranoia, played with clumsy charm by a mustachioed and bleary-eyed Leonardo DiCaprio, is half-cocked and somewhat comical.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The real clash with liberals is not over how big government should be, but over what the state should be empowered to do.—
Allan J. Lichtman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Their violent clash of characters in the Marvel series, which has been a solid performer on Disney+, underpinned the original Netflix action series.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The two firms are also considering building an oil pipeline and storage facility in Oman to help boost Iraq’s crude exports.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
That prompted a frustrated Webex engineer, Eric Yuan, to quit and start Zoom, which is why WebEx looks like a crude prototype of what Zoom became.—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
These particular coffee-shop customers picked the wrong day to be rude, though.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile, the Lions give a rude welcome back to Ben Johnson, while the 49ers run over the Saints.—
Vic Tafur,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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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
-
Due to an accidental feature of this primitive technology, the color of television made in the middle nineteen sixties is essentially public, rather than private.—
Scott Stossel,
The Atlantic,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Campsites are a step above primitive, with nearby water, pit toilets, picnic tables and food lock-up boxes provided.—
Don Sproul,
Oc Register,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rough-and-tumble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough-and-tumble. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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