roughness
/ˈrʌfnəs
/noun [mass noun]
1The quality or state of having an uneven or irregular surface: the craggy roughness of every peak...
- Sound has qualities of all that exists in the world—taste, smell, roughness, smoothness—you can have a triangle sound and a round sound.
- Adding a coulter increased draft force and caused greater soil surface roughness compared with the sweep alone.
- The resultant cured silicone surface has an increased roughness.
2The quality of lacking gentleness: a certain amount of playfighting and roughness is normal for dogs...
- She played sports with the guys, never minding their roughness.
- Not seeming very happy with my sudden roughness, she just looked at me, mouth slightly open.
- They would go home that night and take their wives with more roughness and passion than ever the poor women themselves evoked.
3The quality of not being refined or completed: the roughness of his drawing...
- The roughness and want of refinement, which is legitimately complained of in this country, is often mitigated by instances of civility.
- The only thing that keeps it from being perfect is its roughness, as it sounds like it was recorded in a basement.
- He deplored the inelegant roughness and dull hilarity of their conversation.
4The quality of sounding harsh and rasping: her voice has a throaty roughness to it...
- Just keeping the roughness of a voice in key impresses me.
- He has a roughness in his voice, recently deepened somewhat by throat surgery.
- He has added a hint of roughness to his voice, but I still feel that he relies too much on his extraordinary physical presence.