as in vulgar
lacking in refinement or good taste
their roughneck antics were amusing only if you were as drunk as they were
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in thug
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
a group of roughnecks like to hang out at the roadhouse and harass people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of roughneck
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2024
Trey Smoak’s roughneck monitor lizard was out of his sight for about 10 minutes Friday when the Crowley resident went to put up groceries.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Feb. 2024
Mark Peikert, IndieWire, 22 Jan. 2025
Landman, set in the oil fields of West Texas, is punctuated by extensive diatribes from Tommy about the oil industry’s importance, the tragic necessity of landmen and roughnecks, and the fallacy of placing society’s hope on renewable energy.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for roughneck
Adjective
That sequence feels like it might have been made by one of those roughneck filmmakers in the early days of Hollywood, just hauling a lot of equipment and stuntmen out to the desert and risking their lives to make some crazed, truly dangerous action set piece.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2024
Trey Smoak’s roughneck monitor lizard was out of his sight for about 10 minutes Friday when the Crowley resident went to put up groceries.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Feb. 2024
Noun
And the guys playing all of our roughnecks were the same.
—Mark Peikert, IndieWire, 22 Jan. 2025
Landman, set in the oil fields of West Texas, is punctuated by extensive diatribes from Tommy about the oil industry’s importance, the tragic necessity of landmen and roughnecks, and the fallacy of placing society’s hope on renewable energy.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for roughneck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roughneck
Adjective
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One of them, a graduate student named Hailey, who had the kind of vulgar beauty of fecundity, duly fell pregnant.—
Yiyun Li,
New Yorker,
15 June 2025
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Dem rep's vulgar demand to ICE officers leads to calls to expel her from Congress MAJOR HEADLINES 'NEVER SEEN HER' – AOC, progressives ripped for ignoring 'Red Light district' as prostitution, filthy streets return.—
,
FOXNews.com,
9 June 2025
Noun
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Summit, June 10 Image So Far Gone by Jess Walter Rhys Kinnick, a journalist and a recluse, is living off the grid in the woods near Spokane, Wash., when his grandchildren are kidnapped by thugs.—
Laura Thompson,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
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Everything changes, however, when two thugs come to visit and promptly beat the ever-loving heck out of Hank at the front door.—
Emlyn Travis Published,
EW.com,
21 May 2025
Adjective
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But beyond the crass remarks about Read, experts say less explosive messages about Proctor's early opinions of the investigation could be damning.—
Julia Bonavita , Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2025
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What keeps these series from coming off as crass is the genuine camaraderie that connects their characters and shelters them, to some extent, from the precariousness of their lives.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
22 May 2025
Noun
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Mohammed's character Hugh has to snort cocaine during the trio's initial meeting with the gangster Fly (Paddy Considine) to prove that the trio aren't posers.—
Ralphie Aversa,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
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His father was a Genovese gangster murdered by the Colombo crime family in retaliation for committing two slayings — a story people told Pappa as a child — and his stepfather was locked up for drug and tax evasion charges.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
9 June 2025
Adjective
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Carry-on rules exist for a reason and deliberately ignoring the rules is both rude and inconsiderate to everyone else who is.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 June 2025
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Matthews walked out of the home to talk to the suspect but returned to the house, saying Hoskins-Ellis said something rude to him.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
9 June 2025
Noun
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Their records contain sensitive personal information, that, if leaked, could allow criminals to steal the identities of unsuspecting customers.—
Theo Burman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 June 2025
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Cruz, the son of an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who came to the U.S. in the 1970s, said he’s angered by the federal government’s portrayal that anyone without documents living in the United States is a criminal.—
Summer Lin,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2025
Adjective
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The government’s finances are highly sensitive to fluctuations in crude prices, with oil and gas earnings making up around 30% of federal revenues in 2024, according Heli Simola, senior economist at the Bank of Finland.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
6 June 2025
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Oil producers’ group OPEC+ decided to up its production levels despite weak crude prices, in what is being seen as a bid to hold on to its market share in a tough economic environment.—
Gaurav Sharma,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
Noun
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New threats emerge, including a ruthless new villain (Bill Skarsgård) and a blind assassin from Wick’s past, played by Donnie Yen in a standout performance.—
Emily Blackwood,
People.com,
6 June 2025
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Nicholas Hoult plays the film’s villain, the megalomaniac super-genius Lex Luthor.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
5 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Roughneck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughneck. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.
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