Need another word that means the same as “rugged”? Find 53 synonyms and 30 related words for “rugged” in this overview.
Table Of Contents:
The synonyms of “Rugged” are: tough, furrowed, broken, rough, uneven, bumpy, rocky, stony, irregular, pitted, broken up, jagged, craggy, precipitous, well built, burly, strong, big and strong, muscular, muscly, brawny, strapping, chunky, husky, broad-shouldered, powerfully built, muscle-bound, rough-textured, manly, masculine, durable, robust, sturdy, resilient, austere, harsh, spartan, exacting, taxing, demanding, difficult, hard, arduous, rigorous, strenuous, onerous, uncompromising, unwavering, unflinching, firm, tenacious, determined, resolute
Rugged as an Adjective
Definitions of "Rugged" as an adjective
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “rugged” as an adjective can have the following definitions:
- (of ground or terrain) having a broken, rocky, and uneven surface.
- Topographically very uneven.
- Very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution.
- Having or requiring toughness and determination.
- (of clothing, equipment, etc.) strongly made and capable of withstanding rough handling.
- Sturdy and strong in constitution or construction; enduring.
- Having attractively strong, rough-hewn features (typically used of a man.
- Having long narrow shallow depressions (as grooves or wrinkles) in the surface.
Synonyms of "Rugged" as an adjective (53 Words)
| arduous | Characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort. Your willingness after these six arduous days to remain here. |
| austere | (of living conditions or a way of life) having no comforts or luxuries. He was an austere man with a rigidly puritanical outlook. |
| big and strong | Exhibiting self-importance. |
| brawny | Possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful. A great brawny brute. |
| broad-shouldered | Having broad shoulders. |
| broken | Out of working order busted is an informal substitute for broken. Broken terrain. |
| broken up | Having been violated or disregarded. |
| bumpy | Covered with or full of bumps. The car jolted on the bumpy road. |
| burly | (of a person) large and strong; heavily built. Had a tall burly frame. |
| chunky | Bulky and thick. Some people seem born to be square and chunky. |
| craggy | (of a landscape) having many crags. A craggy coastline. |
| demanding | Requiring more than usually expected or thought due; especially great patience and effort and skill. She has a busy and demanding job. |
| determined | Determined or decided upon as by an authority. A determined effort to reduce inflation. |
| difficult | Characterized by or causing hardships or problems. A difficult task. |
| durable | Very long lasting. The perdurable granite of the ancient Appalachian spine of the continent. |
| exacting | Having complicated nutritional requirements; especially growing only in special artificial cultures. An exacting job. |
| firm | Marked by firm determination or resolution not shakable. The pound was firm against the dollar. |
| furrowed | (of land or earth) covered in long, narrow trenches formed by ploughing. Furrowed fields. |
| hard | Unfortunate or hard to bear. He d had a hard life. |
| harsh | Unkind or cruel or uncivil. A time of harsh military discipline. |
| husky | Deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion- Virgil Thomson. Clothing sizes for husky boys. |
| irregular | (of a verb or other word) having inflections that do not conform to the usual rules. An irregular worker. |
| jagged | With rough, sharp points protruding. The jagged outline of the crags. |
| manly | Having or denoting those good qualities traditionally associated with men, such as courage, strength, and spirit. Manly sports. |
| masculine | Associated with men and not with women. A masculine voice. |
| muscle-bound | Having stiff muscles as the result of excessive exercise. |
| muscly | Muscular. His muscly forearms. |
| muscular | Having a robust muscular body build characterized by predominance of structures bone and muscle and connective tissue developed from the embryonic mesodermal layer. His legs were strong and muscular. |
| onerous | Involving heavy obligations. An onerous lease. |
| pitted | Pitted with cell like cavities as a honeycomb. Pitted black olives. |
| powerfully built | Possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful. |
| precipitous | Dangerously high or steep. The track skirted a precipitous drop. |
| resilient | (of a substance or object) able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed. Babies are generally far more resilient than new parents realize. |
| resolute | Firm in purpose or belief; characterized by firmness and determination. He was resolute in his fight to uphold liberal values. |
| rigorous | Demanding strict attention to rules and procedures. Rigorous application of the law. |
| robust | Strong enough to withstand or overcome intellectual challenges or adversity. A robust body. |
| rocky | Liable to rock. The marriage seemingly got off to a rocky start. |
| rough | Violently agitated and turbulent. A few rough sketches. |
| rough-textured | Having surface roughness. |
| spartan | Unsparing and uncompromising in discipline or judgment. A spartan diet. |
| stony | Not having or showing feeling or sympathy. Stony ground. |
| strapping | (especially of a young person) big and strong. A strapping boy of eighteen. |
| strenuous | Taxing to the utmost; testing powers of endurance- F.D.Roosevelt. Strenuous exercise. |
| strong | Relating to or denoting the strongest of the known kinds of force between particles which acts between nucleons and other hadrons when closer than about 10 cm so binding protons in a nucleus despite the repulsion due to their charge and which conserves strangeness parity and isospin. The government were urged to take strong measures against the perpetrators of violence. |
| sturdy | Strong enough to withstand rough work or treatment. The bike is sturdy enough to cope with bumpy tracks. |
| taxing | Not easily borne; wearing. A taxing schedule. |
| tenacious | Stubbornly unyielding. A mind not gifted to discover truth but tenacious to hold it. |
| tough | Feeling physical discomfort or pain tough is occasionally used colloquially for bad. A tough break. |
| uncompromising | Showing an unwillingness to make concessions to others, especially by changing one’s ways or opinions. Uncompromising honesty. |
| uneven | Not fairly matched as opponents. Uneven spacing. |
| unflinching | Not showing fear or hesitation in the face of danger or difficulty. He has shown unflinching determination throughout the campaign. |
| unwavering | Not showing abrupt variations. Unwavering loyalty. |
| well built | Wise or advantageous and hence advisable. |
Usage Examples of "Rugged" as an adjective
- The rugged conditions of frontier life.
- A rugged competitive examination.
- A week of rugged, demanding adventure at an outdoor training centre.
- The binoculars are compact, lightweight, and rugged.
- Rugged ground.
- A rugged coastline.
- With a house full of boys you have to have rugged furniture.
- He was known for his rugged good looks.
Associations of "Rugged" (30 Words)
| asymmetric | Characterized by asymmetry in the spatial arrangement or placement of parts or components. |
| asymmetrical | Having parts that fail to correspond to one another in shape, size, or arrangement; lacking symmetry. The church has an asymmetrical plan with an aisle only on one side. |
| atypical | Not representative of a group, class, or type. Atypical pneumonia. |
| broken | Out of working order busted is an informal substitute for broken. A broken white line across the road. |
| bumpy | Causing or characterized by jolts and irregular movements. Investors could be in for a bumpy ride. |
| corrosive | A corrosive substance. Corrosive cristism. |
| craggy | (of a landscape) having many crags. A craggy coastline. |
| erratic | Likely to perform unpredictably. Erratic winds are the bane of a sailor. |
| gigantic | Of very great size or extent; huge or enormous. A gigantic concrete tower. |
| gravelly | Unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound. A dry gravelly soil. |
| hilly | Having many hills. A remote hilly district. |
| hinterland | The area around or beyond a major town or port. A market town serving its rich agricultural hinterland. |
| irregular | A member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment. Irregular hiring practices. |
| irreparably | In an irreparable manner or to an irreparable degree. Our international image has been irreparably tarnished. |
| jagged | Having a sharply uneven surface or outline. Her jagged nerves. |
| landlocked | (of a country or region) almost or entirely surrounded by land. A landlocked country. |
| mountainous | Like a mountain in size and impressiveness. Mountainous waves. |
| patchy | Irregular or uneven in quality, texture, etc. Patchy fog. |
| pebble | (of a spectacle lens) very thick and convex. A narrow pebble beach. |
| raspy | Unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound. His voice was raspy from days of non stop campaigning. |
| rock | A large piece of rock which has become detached from a cliff or mountain a boulder. Rock is a generic term for the range of styles that evolved out of rock n roll. |
| rough | With roughness or violence rough is an informal variant for roughly. Rough paper. |
| serrated | Notched like a saw with teeth pointing toward the apex. A knife with a serrated edge. |
| shattered | Ruined or disrupted. He was said to be absolutely shattered after losing his job. |
| stony | Abounding in rocks or stones. Lucenzo s hard stony eyes. |
| toothed | Having an irregularly notched or toothed margin as though gnawed. Saw toothed. |
| unbalance | A lack of balance or state of disequilibrium. There appears to be very little horizontal stress unbalance. |
| uneven | (of a contest) not equally balanced. An uneven gait. |
| wavy | Uneven by virtue of having wrinkles or waves. She had long wavy hair. |
| wilderness | A neglected or abandoned area. The garden had become a wilderness of weeds and bushes. |
