to roughen

Examples

• All

• "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

C

to coarsen

vsto roughen

5 6.5

Make or become rough in texture and manners

is about changing surface texture specifically rather than character or manners

R

to rough-hew

vsto roughen

• Specialized

4 9.9

To shape wood or stone without smoothing the surface

is about making surfaces more uneven generally not only initial shaping

R

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

S

to scarify

vsto roughen

• Specialized

1 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

R

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

Antonyms

P

to polish

65 1.1

To make something smooth and shiny by rubbing it

S

to smooth

53 1.1

To make a surface even by rubbing or pressing

Phrasal Verbs

R

to roughen up

• Informal

1 5.7

To make a surface not smooth or a person tougher

R

to roughen up the edges

1 6.3

To make the edges less smooth by creating small uneven parts

How Rough

to rasp

• Specialized

2 7.8

to abrade

5 8.1

to roughen

1 4.2

to scratch

100 1.1

to scuff

13 3.6

to nick

31 3.5

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology