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
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
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
James meets rough-and-ready cowboy Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) upon arrival in Fort Worth and joins his wagon train heading West.
—Rendy Jones, EW.com, 9 Aug. 2024
That means looks or labels that are forged in the sweat and heat of the city’s legendary nightlife and its edgy, rough-and-ready street style.
—Cathrin Schaer, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019
As Singer’s book documents, Siskel and Ebert’s frequent riffs about their show amount to a rough-and-ready touchstone—even a questionnaire—for critics of all stripes to ponder.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 17 Nov. 2023
Iteration is crucial in video-game design Typically a video-game project starts with the team throwing together a few rough-and-ready first drafts to make sure the concept works.
—IEEE Spectrum, 26 June 2023
They're all looked after by their gruff, rough-and-ready sometimes-mama, Raleigh (Laurie Metcalf).
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 2 June 2023
Prototypes from any company are often very rough-and-ready at the beginning.
—David Phelan, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2023
Scotty Reiss, Forbes.com, 5 May 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
James meets rough-and-ready cowboy Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) upon arrival in Fort Worth and joins his wagon train heading West.
—Rendy Jones, EW.com, 9 Aug. 2024
That means looks or labels that are forged in the sweat and heat of the city’s legendary nightlife and its edgy, rough-and-ready street style.
—Cathrin Schaer, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019
As Singer’s book documents, Siskel and Ebert’s frequent riffs about their show amount to a rough-and-ready touchstone—even a questionnaire—for critics of all stripes to ponder.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 17 Nov. 2023
Iteration is crucial in video-game design Typically a video-game project starts with the team throwing together a few rough-and-ready first drafts to make sure the concept works.
—IEEE Spectrum, 26 June 2023
They're all looked after by their gruff, rough-and-ready sometimes-mama, Raleigh (Laurie Metcalf).
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 2 June 2023
Prototypes from any company are often very rough-and-ready at the beginning.
—David Phelan, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rough-and-ready
Adjective
-
And Hank’s own clumsy attempts at hypermasculine child-rearing often come from his father, Cotton (Toby Huss).—
Daniel Dockery,
Vulture,
7 July 2025
-
Gone are are the days of clumsy imagery and texts and fake sign-in pages that can be detected in an instant.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
3 July 2025
Adjective
-
Devin Williams has settled down after a rough beginning of the year, and Luke Weaver remains superb despite some hiccups before the All-Star Break.—
Daniel R. Epstein,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
-
Here are several other Twins takeaways from a rough weekend in Denver, which ended on an encouraging note: Ryan shows confidence after first All-Star Game Making his first start since delivering a dominant inning in the All-Star Game on Tuesday, Ryan was outstanding in the series finale.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
21 July 2025
Adjective
-
The essence of the review is evaluation, which of course doesn’t imply the crude simplicity of a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
24 July 2025
-
Oil prices have been soft this year, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures off about 9% per barrel, and Brent crude futures down 8%.—
Darla Mercado, CFP®,
CNBC,
23 July 2025
Adjective
-
Most commenters support the original poster, writing that the aunt and uncle are the rude people in this situation.—
Sabrina Weiss,
People.com,
10 July 2025
-
Stand up to anyone who bullies you, and call people out who are rude or behaving badly.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
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
-
Houde said these mammoth animals are a primitive group of proboscideans ('elephantoids') from which modern elephants evolved.—
Joseph J. Kolb,
Fox News,
18 July 2017
-
Many are primitive and remote, and don’t have restrooms or water.—
OregonLive.com,
OregonLive.com,
12 July 2017
Adjective
-
Few technologies, and certainly few so rudimentary in design and execution, have done more for the betterment of the world than shipping containers.—
Tony Morley,
National Review,
25 July 2025
-
This is the most simple kind of AI agent that basically provides a rudimentary function.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
Adjective
-
Not because those traits are flawed, but because they’re pointed in the wrong direction.—
Nell Derick Debevoise,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
-
Critics says the study RFK Jr. cited as evidence is flawed.—
Gabrielle Emanuel,
NPR,
21 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rough-and-ready.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rough-and-ready. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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