roughen

verb

rough·​en ˈrə-fən How to pronounce roughen (audio)
roughened; roughening ˈrə-fə-niŋ How to pronounce roughen (audio)
ˈrəf-niŋ
Synonyms of roughennext

transitive verb

: to make rough or rougher
her hands were roughened by work— Ellen Glasgow

intransitive verb

: to become rough

Examples of roughen in a Sentence

Roughen the surface with a file before you apply the glue. Her hands were roughened by years of hard work. Age caused his skin to roughen.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The lengths in particular, which are already dry and sensitive, are only roughened even more by regular shampooing. — Jana Ackermann, Glamour, 26 Nov. 2024 To address both weaknesses, engineers coated the nitride film—a combination of GaN and InGaN layers—with a metal that acts as a mirror, then flipped the assembly over, removed the substrate, and roughened the underlying surface. — IEEE Spectrum, 30 Dec. 2010

Word History

First Known Use

1582, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of roughen was in 1582

Rhymes for roughen

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Cite this Entry

“Roughen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roughen. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

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Kids Definition

roughen

verb
rough·​en ˈrəf-ən How to pronounce roughen (audio)
roughened; roughening -(ə-)niŋ How to pronounce roughen (audio)
: to make or become rough

More from Merriam-Webster on roughen

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for roughen

Nglish: Translation of roughen for Spanish Speakers

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