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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The survey examined a minimum of 1,000 comments per team and found less than 1% of posts made by fans of the Dallas Wings contained swear words or vulgar comments.—
Alyssa Cooper,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 May 2025
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The program was incredibly close-knit—kids practiced most days of the week, and hung out almost exclusively with their fellow All-Stars, as well as with the vulgar, charismatic teacher who structured their lives.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
3 May 2025
Noun
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That theft is believed to have led to the brazen kidnapping in suburban Connecticut of the parents of one of Lam’s alleged co-conspirators by a crew of thugs from Florida who prosecutors say planned to hold the parents for ransom from their newly rich son.—
Dan Mangan,
CNBC,
15 May 2025
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Their reckless, soft-on-crime policies emboldened criminals and thugs; wreaked havoc on the sanctity of our homes, businesses, and public spaces; instilled fear; and jeopardized public trust.—
Jenna deJong,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 May 2025
Adjective
-
Related Articles Dear Abby: Is there a way to tell the crass shirttail relations that they’re not invited?—
Jeanne Phillips,
Mercury News,
10 May 2025
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Grand Theft Auto is famous for its crass, satirical sense of humor.—
Jordan Minor,
PC Magazine,
6 May 2025
Noun
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Polish media have also reported on his connections to gangsters and the world of prostitution.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 May 2025
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Historically speaking, a half-Mexican woman isn’t usually the first in line to write a story about a violently ambitious gangster, which is what excited me most about it.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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Hintz, meanwhile, got a rude welcome back early in Game 4 when Evan Bouchard slashed him right in the same area that Darnell Nurse injured him in Game 2.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
27 May 2025
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And in the case of fully autonomous EVs, it might be considered rude to expect human passengers to get out and cable a robotaxi to a supercharger for a quick top up on the way to the airport.—
Paul Ridden
May 23,
New Atlas,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Or even those Californians, such as many in San Francisco and Los Angeles, who are just fed up with the perception that California is soft on criminals.—
Anita Chabria,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2025
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To boost deportations, immigration officials have detained workers at their homes and jobs — a method that, in the past, had been reserved for only the most violent criminals.—
Ana Ley,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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Such a fund holds derivatives tied to the prices of a basket of physical assets—crude oil, natural gas, precious metals, base metals, grains, livestock.—
William Baldwin,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
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Subscribe The core inflation is expected to ease in the coming months due to lower crude oil prices and the yen’s appreciation, said Masato Koike, economist at Sompo Institute Plus.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
22 May 2025
Noun
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Of course, everyone has their own favorite Bond villain.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
24 May 2025
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Perhaps this is why it was never required viewing in my household; there was no darker notion than our hero potentially being a villain.—
Tyler Foggatt,
New Yorker,
24 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Roughneck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roughneck. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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