Rugged — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective /ˈrə-gəd/ rug·ged

Meaning & Definition of Rugged

Rugged (adjective)

  1. having a rough uneven surface, jagged
  2. seamed with wrinkles and furrows, weathered —used of a human face
  3. having rough but attractive features

Rugged (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. able to withstand hardship, strain, or exposure

    "a rugged construction that survived for hundreds of years"

    similar: cast-iron, hard, hard-bitten, hardened, hardy, inured, stout, strong, sturdy, tough, toughened, vigorous
    related: flinty, leathery, resilient, stalwart, durable, enduring, everlasting, immortal, imperishable, lasting, permanent, stable, staunch, staying, tenacious, unyielding, flourishing, prospering, thriving, able-bodied, brawny, muscular, fit, fortified, hale, healthy, husky, lusty, red-blooded, robust, sound, strapping, virile, annealed, seasoned, tempered
    opposite: delicate, nonhardy, soft, tender, weak
    near: emasculated, enervated, enfeebled, exhausted, run-down, sapped, wasted, weakened, worn, worn-out, crippled, debilitated, diseased, incapacitated, infirm, unsound, fragile, frail, puny, resistless, sensitive, susceptible, unresistant, vulnerable, yielding, mortal, perishable, temporary, transient

  2. difficult to endure

    "the incredibly rugged conditions that the polar explorers faced"

    similar: bitter, brutal, burdensome, cruel, excruciating, grievous, grim, hard, hardhanded, harsh, heavy, inhuman, murderous, onerous, oppressive, rough, searing, severe, stiff, tough, trying
    related: austere, bleak, comfortless, discomforting, forbidding, inhospitable, spartan, uncomfortable, biting, inclement, intemperate, wild, rigorous, strict, stringent, agonizing, heartbreaking, heartrending, painful, wretched, crushing, grinding, overwhelming, wearing, insufferable, insupportable, intolerable, unbearable, unendurable, harrowing, tortuous, bad, disagreeable, hostile, unfriendly, unpleasant
    opposite: easy, light, soft
    near: comfortable, cozy, luxurious, snug, agreeable, friendly, genial, hospitable, pleasant, peaceful, relaxing, reposeful, restful, bearable, endurable, painless, tolerable, balmy, calm, clement, gentle, mild, moderate, temperate

  3. harsh and threatening in manner or appearance

    "the warrior's rugged features frightened the child"

    similar: austere, dour, fierce, flinty, forbidding, grim, gruff, intimidating, lowering, rough, severe, stark, steely, stern, ungentle
    related: bleak, cold, hostile, inhospitable, inimical, unfriendly, unsympathetic, adamant, bound, determined, firm, intent, purposeful, resolute, resolved, steadfast, unflinching, fixed, hard, hardened, hardheaded, immovable, implacable, inflexible, ironhanded, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, rigid, self-willed, set, stiff, stubborn, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding, willful, immutable, unchangeable, black, cheerless, dark, gloomy, glum, joyless, melancholic, moody, morose, sulky, sullen, surly, brooding, grave, humorless, melancholy, serious, sober, sobersided, solemn, somber, staid, unsmiling, weighty
    opposite: benign, benignant, gentle, mild, nonintimidating, tender
    near: bland, meek, mellow, soft, soothing, easy, quiet, tranquil, agreeable, bright, cheerful, inviting, pleasant, pleasing, sweet, glad, happy, lighthearted, merry, mirthful, sunny, featherbrained, flighty, frivolous, giddy, goofy, harebrained, light-headed, playful, scatterbrained, silly

  4. having muscles capable of exerting great physical force

    "a rugged athlete who's competing in weight lifting in the Olympics"

    similar: brawny, muscular, sinewy, stalwart, stout, strong
    related: forceful, forcible, mighty, potent, powerful, puissant, able-bodied, athletic, fit, trim, beefy, burly, husky, strapping, masculine, virile, hard, inured, strengthened, sturdy, tough, toughened, energetic, energized, invigorated, lusty, red-blooded, robust, vigorous, vitalized, hale, healthy, hearty, sound
    opposite: delicate, feeble, frail, weak, weakling, wimpy
    near: disabled, incapacitated, paralyzed, impotent, powerless, puny, slight, small, unathletic, unfit, unhealthy

  5. not having a level or smooth surface

    "rugged terrain that made for slow going"

    similar: broken, bumpy, coarse, irregular, jagged, lumpy, pebbly, ragged, rough, roughened, scraggy, uneven
    related: lopsided, unbalanced, inexact, unaligned, rutted, rutty, undulating, undulatory, wavy, pitted, pocked, knobbly, knobby, knurled, knurly, nubbly, nubby, burred, harsh, sandpapery, scraggly, scratchy, nonuniform
    opposite: even, flat, level, plane, smooth
    near: exact, uniform, aligned, regular, true, horizontal, tabular, plumb, straight, vertical, flush

  6. requiring considerable physical or mental effort

    "even more rugged than most ultramarathons, this one crosses a desert"

    similar: arduous, Augean, backbreaking, challenging, demanding, difficult, effortful, exacting, formidable, grueling, hard, heavy, hellacious, herculean, killer, laborious, moiling, murderous, pick-and-shovel, rigorous, rough, severe, stiff, strenuous, sweaty, tall, testing, toilsome, tough, uphill
    related: abstract, abstruse, complex, complicated, elusive, hairy, insoluble, intricate, involved, knotty, opaque, problematic, recondite, serious, spiny, stubborn, thorny, ticklish, tricky, bruising, burdensome, exhausting, labored, onerous, oppressive, stressful, taxing, tight, trying, annoying, bothersome, distressing, irksome, troublesome, vexatious, grievous, grim, strict, stringent, brutal, cruel, inhuman, painful
    opposite: cheap, easy, effortless, facile, light, mindless, simple, soft, undemanding
    near: achievable, clear, doable, elementary, manageable, uncomplicated, comforting, gentle, painless, relaxed, smooth, soothing, accessible, friendly, idiotproof, user-friendly

  7. marked by turmoil or disturbance especially of natural elements

    "New Hampshire's Mount Washington has some of the ruggedest weather in all of North America"

    similar: rough, stormy, tempestuous, tumultuous, turbulent, wild
    related: blustering, blustery, raging, violent, brutal, harsh, severe, roily, unquiet, unsettled, bleak, inclement, nasty, raw, squally
    near: calm, halcyon, peaceful, placid, quiet, serene, tranquil, bright, clear, clement, cloudless, fair, sunny, sunshiny, unclouded

  8. lacking in refinement or good taste

    "the kind of rugged humor that men have traditionally enjoyed at stag parties"

    similar: coarse, common, crass, crude, gross, ill-bred, illiberal (archaic), incult, insensible, low, lowbred, lowbrow, raffish, rough, rough-hewn, roughneck, rude, tasteless, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unpolished, unrefined, vulgar
    related: boorish, churlish, cloddish, clownish, loutish, ungentlemanly, clumsy, lubberly, lumpish, oafish, inconsiderate, indelicate, insensitive, thoughtless, countrified, provincial, rustic, unsophisticated, graceless, inelegant, tacky, animallike, barbaric, barbarous, uncivilized, mannerless, unmannered, unmannerly
    opposite: civilized, cultivated, cultured, genteel, polished, refined, smooth, tasteful, ultrarefined, well-bred
    near: aristocratic, courtly, patrician, elegant, graceful, restrained, considerate, gracious, sensitive, thoughtful, citified, sophisticated, urbane

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Rugged

The most common words with a similar meaning to Rugged:

Archaic: illiberal
cast-iron, hard, hard-bitten, hardened, hardy, inured, stout, strong, sturdy, tough, toughened, vigorous, bitter, brutal, burdensome, cruel, excruciating, grievous, grim, hardhanded, harsh, heavy, inhuman, murderous, onerous, oppressive, rough, searing, severe, stiff, trying, austere, dour, fierce, flinty, forbidding, gruff, intimidating, lowering, stark

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Rugged

Words with the opposite meaning of Rugged:

delicate, nonhardy, soft, tender, weak, easy, light, benign, benignant, gentle, mild, nonintimidating, feeble, frail, weakling, wimpy, even, flat, level, plane, smooth, cheap, effortless, facile, mindless, simple, undemanding, civilized, cultivated, cultured

Related Words for Rugged

leathery, resilient, durable, enduring, everlasting, immortal, imperishable, lasting, permanent, stable, staunch, staying, tenacious, unyielding, flourishing, prospering, thriving, able-bodied, fit, fortified, hale, healthy, husky, lusty, red-blooded, robust, sound, strapping, virile, annealed

Near Antonyms of Rugged

emasculated, enervated, enfeebled, exhausted, run-down, sapped, wasted, weakened, worn, worn-out, crippled, debilitated, diseased, incapacitated, infirm, unsound, fragile, puny, resistless, sensitive, susceptible, unresistant, vulnerable, yielding, mortal, perishable, temporary, transient, comfortable, cozy

Word Forms of Rugged

Derived words: ruggedly (adverb), ruggedness (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Rugged

Middle English, from Middle English *rug

First known use: 14th century

Frequently Asked Questions about Rugged

What does "Rugged" mean?

"Rugged" means having a rough uneven surface, jagged. As an adjective, it is defined as: having a rough uneven surface, jagged. It has 8 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Rugged"?

Other words for "Rugged" include cast-iron, hard, hard-bitten, hardened, hardy, inured, stout and strong. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Rugged" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Rugged"?

There are 334 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Rugged". Common alternatives include cast-iron, hard, hard-bitten, hardened, hardy, inured, stout, strong, sturdy and tough.

What is the opposite of "Rugged"?

Antonyms of "Rugged" include delicate, nonhardy, soft, tender, weak, easy, light and benign. Near antonyms include emasculated, enervated, enfeebled and exhausted.

How do you use "Rugged" in a sentence?

Examples of "Rugged" in a sentence: "a rugged construction that survived for hundreds of years"; "the incredibly rugged conditions that the polar explorers faced"; "the warrior's rugged features frightened the child".

Is "Rugged" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Rugged" is an adjective.

How do you pronounce "Rugged"?

"Rugged" is pronounced /ˈrə-gəd/ and divided into syllables as rug·ged.

What is the origin of the word "Rugged"?

"Rugged" comes from Middle English, from Middle English *rug. First known use: 14th century.