rugged look
- noun
- Many men prefer the rugged look for a strong and attractive appearance.
Examples
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He had that rugged look.
Fiction book (1998) -
Appealing to customers who want a more rugged look, it features a number of unique details:
Blog text (24) -
I inherited the more macho rugged looks of my father.
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Guys who are a little rough around the edges, intentionally or unintentionally, go for a more rugged look.
Blog text (8) -
Song Ji Hyo will sport corny perms, sexily tanned skin, and a sleeveless shirt for a tough and rugged look.
Blog text (1) -
His beard and deep-set eyes gave him a charming rugged look that many admired.
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To achieve a rugged look, he chose clothes that were slightly worn and had a rough texture.
Synonyms
An appearance that seems tough but hides a softer side
A wild, natural look often seen in landscapes like mountains or in people with strong features
An attractive, confident look that reminds people of a good-looking man
Antonyms
How Rugged
Surface Forms
Morphology
rugged + look
The meaning 'a rough, strong, and attractive appearance' is directly derivable from combining 'rugged' (rough/strong) with 'look' (appearance). This modifier + noun composition follows normal English semantics and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would understand it.
Etymology
Rugged look comes from comparing a person's face or style to rough, rocky land: rugged means rough and strong, like an old rock, and look means appearance. So when someone has stubble, lines, or sun-dark skin people say they have a rugged look, meaning 'rough, strong, and often attractive appearance'.