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Glite Dictionary
to roughen

to roughen

2 4.2
To make a surface not smooth so it feels bumpy
  • verb
  • /ˈrʌfən/
translation icon : rugoso
  • The stone steps were clammy and roughened by flakes of paint.
  • roughened surface

Examples

  • "Really, Mr. MacEwan," she said in her sleep-roughened voice.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The cool wind roughened her skin, bringing up pebbly goosebumps.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Her voice roughened, and she stopped for a moment and pressed her lips together.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • "Do you have a safety pin on you?" inquired the foreign minister in her cigarette-roughened voice.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • B.B. King was born in 1925, and so his voice has finally roughened and cracked with age.

    Blog text (1)

  • Marv gave him a doper's vague stare, then with a smoke-roughened voice said, "On my back."

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Beneath the palm she had pressed to Steve's hair-roughened chest, she could feel the steady beat of his heart.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • A tough-looking middle-aged man with wind-roughened skin and a deeply lined face jumped to his feet.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • It's Gerry's scritch-scratchy voice, scarred and roughened by years of smoking.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The craftsmen roughened the wood surface to prepare it for painting.

Synonyms

to coarsen
vsto roughen
2 6.5

Make or become rough in texture and manners

is about changing surface texture specifically rather than character or manners
to roughen up
vsto roughen
  • Informal
1 5.7

To make a surface not smooth or a person tougher

is only about making a surface more uneven not about making people tougher
to rough-hew
vsto roughen
  • Specialized
9.9

To shape wood or stone without smoothing the surface

is about making surfaces more uneven generally not only initial shaping
to roughcast
vsto roughen
8.1

To make a rough basic shape before finishing it

is broader, covering any change to surface texture, not only initial shaping
to scarify
vsto roughen
  • Specialized
9.2

To make small cuts in seed coats so they take in water and grow

is about changing whole texture, not only making shallow, beneficial cuts

Antonyms

to smooth
54 1.1

To make a surface even by rubbing or pressing

to polish
46 1.1

To make something smooth and shiny by rubbing it

Phrasal Verbs

to roughen up
  • Informal
1 5.7

To make a surface not smooth or a person tougher

to roughen up the edges
6.3

To make the edges less smooth by creating small uneven parts

How Rough

to rasp
  • Specialized
1 7.8
to abrade
5 8.1
to roughen
2 4.2
to scratch
161 1.1
to scuff
12 3.6
to nick
33 3.5

Surface Forms

roughen infinitive
roughened past
roughened past participle
roughening present participle
roughens third person singular

Morphology

roughen = rough (transparent) = rough + en

A straightforward verb formation from the adjective 'rough' using the productive suffix '-en' meaning 'to make or become X'.

Etymology

Roughen comes from the common word rough, meaning 'not smooth', plus the verb ending -en that makes a word mean 'to make' something a certain way. So roughen literally means 'make not smooth', which is why it means to make a surface rougher.