roughness — English Dictionary

Noun

1. The property of being rough, coarseness.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   The roughness of the road made me wonder if my car would fall apart.

2. Something that is rough; a rough spot.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   A variety of suitable methods for surface inspection are available to detect topographical defects induced by surface roughnesses such as scratches, digs, inclusions and spatters.

3. Roughage; coarse fodder.

   Usage

   • US usage
   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   With this latter implement, the corn stalk fodder, shucks, oats, hay and other "roughness" may be finely cut up[…]

4. Abundance, especially of food.

   Usage

   • Scotland
   • Countable
   • Uncountable

5. A measure of how rough something is, such as a surface

   Usage

   • Countable

   Examples

   The surface roughness was low.

Noun

1. a texture of a surface or edge that is not smooth but is irregular and uneven

   Synonyms

   raggedness

   Antonyms

   smoothness

   Broader terms

   texture

2. the quality of being harsh or rough or grating to the senses

   Synonyms

   harshness

   Broader terms

   unpleasantness

3. an unpolished unrefined quality

   Synonyms

   crudeness

   Broader terms

   inelegance

   Examples

   the crudeness of frontier dwellings depressed her

4. used of the sea during inclement or stormy weather

   Synonyms

   choppinessrough water

   Broader terms

   storminess

5. rowdy behavior

   Synonyms

   rowdinessrowdyismdisorderliness

   Broader terms

   disorder

6. the formation of small pits in a surface as a consequence of corrosion

   Synonyms

   pittingindentation

   Broader terms

   corrosioncorrodingerosion

7. harsh or severe speech or behavior

   Broader terms

   intensification

   Examples

   men associate the roughness of nonstandard working-class speech with masculinity

   the roughness of her voice was a signal to keep quiet