What does roughen mean?
Roughen is a verb meaning to make something rough or to become rough. It commonly describes the effect of friction, wear, weather, abrasion, or other physical processes on surfaces, materials, skin, and natural features such as the sea. For example, wind can roughen the water, while repeated contact with an abrasive surface can roughen a piece of metal or stone. The word is useful when an action or change is being emphasized rather than simply describing the resulting texture with the adjective rough. It is neutral in register and can be used in technical, descriptive, or figurative contexts, although its most straightforward application is physical. In the phrase roughen up, it may also refer to treating someone roughly or behaving in an aggressive or disorderly way. Although “roughened” and “roughening” are standard inflected forms, roughen itself is normally used as a verb.
verbTo make something rough, or to become rough. The word is especially used of surfaces, materials, or skin affected by friction, wear, weather, or deliberate treatment.
- To make a surface, material, or part of the body rough.
- To become rough, especially through friction, wear, weather, or movement.
"The abrasive roughened the surface of the stone."
"Years of exposure had roughened the paint on the old sign."
"The sea began to roughen as the wind rose."
The suffix -en turns a description into a process: roughen is what happens when smoothness is deliberately disturbed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does roughen come from?
Roughen is an English formation made by adding the productive suffix -en to the adjective rough. The base rough descends from Old English rūh, while -en is a longstanding English pattern for forming verbs that express making or becoming something: as in darken, soften, and strengthen. The word therefore developed with meanings connected with making or becoming coarse, uneven, or abrasive.
Related word forms
How roughen is actually used
Roughen is standard in both British and American English. It can be transitive, as in “roughen the surface,” or intransitive, as in “the sea roughened”; the expression “roughen up” can also mean behave in a rough or aggressive manner.
Easily confused with roughen
Rough is an adjective describing something that already has a rough texture, whereas roughen is the verb meaning to make something rough or to become rough.