Adjacent Words

Rogue definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ROGUE, n. rog. [Gr., Eng. rogue, by transposition of letters. The word arga, in the laws of the Longobards, denotes a cuckold.]
1. In law, a vagrant; a sturdy beggar; a vagabond. Persons of this character were, by the ancient laws of England, to be punished by whipping and having the ear bored with a hot iron.
2. A knave; a dishonest person; applied now, I believe, exclusively to males. This word comprehends thieves and robbers, but is generally applied to such as cheat and defraud in mutual dealings, or to counterfeiters.
The rogue and fool by fits is fair and wise.
3. A name of slight tenderness and endearment.
Alas, poor rogue, I think indeed she loves.
4. A wag.
ROGUE, v.i. rog.
1. To wander; to play the vagabond. [Little used.]
2. To play knavish tricks. [Little used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel [syn: rogue, knave, rascal, rapscallion, scalawag, scallywag, varlet]

Merriam Webster's

geographical name river about 200 miles (320 kilometers) SW Oregon rising in Crater Lake National Park & flowing W & SW into the Pacific

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: origin unknown Date: 1561 1. vagrant, tramp 2. a dishonest or worthless person ; scoundrel 3. a mischievous person ; scamp 4. a horse inclined to shirk or misbehave 5. an individual exhibiting a chance and usually inferior biological variation • roguish adjective • roguishly adverb • roguishness noun II. intransitive verb (rogued; roguing or rogueing) Date: 1766 to weed out inferior, diseased, or nontypical individuals from a crop plant or a field III. adjective Date: 1872 1. resembling or suggesting a rogue elephant especially in being isolated, aberrant, dangerous, or uncontrollable <capsized by a rogue wave> 2. corrupt, dishonest <rogue cops> 3. of or being a nation whose leaders defy international law or norms of international behavior <rogue states>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a dishonest or unprincipled person. 2 joc. a mischievous person, esp. a child. 3 (usu. attrib.) a a wild animal driven away or living apart from the herd and of fierce temper (rogue elephant). b a stray, irresponsible, or undisciplined person or thing (rogue trader). 4 an inferior or defective specimen among many acceptable ones. --v.tr. remove rogues (sense 4 of n.) from. Phrases and idioms: rogues' gallery a collection of photographs of known criminals etc., used for identification of suspects. Etymology: 16th-c. cant word: orig. unkn.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rogue Rogue, n. [F. rogue proud, haughty, supercilious; cf. Icel. hr?kr a rook, croaker (cf. Rook a bird), or Armor. rok, rog, proud, arogant.] 1. (Eng.Law) A vagrant; an idle, sturdy beggar; a vagabond; a tramp. Note: The phrase rogues and vagabonds is applied to a large class of wandering, disorderly, or dissolute persons. They were formerly punished by being whipped and having the gristle of the right ear bored with a hot iron. 2. A deliberately dishonest person; a knave; a cheat. The rogue and fool by fits is fair and wise. --Pope. 3. One who is pleasantly mischievous or frolicsome; hence, often used as a term of endearment. Ah, you sweet little rogue, you! --Shak. 4. An elephant that has separated from a herd and roams about alone, in which state it is very savage. 5. (Hort.) A worthless plant occuring among seedlings of some choice variety. Rogues' gallery, a collection of portraits of rogues or criminals, for the use of the police authorities. Rogue's march, derisive music performed in driving away a person under popular indignation or official sentence, as when a soldier is drummed out of a regiment. Rogue's yarn, yarn of a different twist and color from the rest, inserted into the cordage of the British navy, to identify it if stolen, or for the purpose of tracing the maker in case of defect. Different makers are required to use yarns of different colors.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rogue Rogue, v. i. To wander; to play the vagabond; to play knavish tricks. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rogue Rogue, v. t. 1. To give the name or designation of rogue to; to decry. [Obs.] --Cudworth. 2. (Hort.) To destroy (plants that do not come up to a required standard).

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(rogues) 1. A rogue is a man who behaves in a dishonest or criminal way. Mr Ward wasn't a rogue at all. N-COUNT 2. If a man behaves in a way that you do not approve of but you still like him, you can refer to him as a rogue. ...Falstaff, the loveable rogue. N-COUNT: oft adj N [feelings] 3. A rogue element is someone or something that behaves differently from others of its kind, often causing damage. Computer systems throughout the country are being affected by a series of mysterious rogue programs, known as viruses... ADJ: ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Vagrant, sturdy beggar, vagabond. 2. Knave, villain, swindler, sharper, cheat, trickster, rascal, scamp, scoundrel, scapegrace, caitiff, picaroon. 3. Mischievous fellow, wag, sly fellow, playful knave.

Moby Thesaurus

SOB, bad boy, balker, balky horse, bastard, blackguard, blighter, booger, bounder, buffoon, bugger, bum, cad, charlatan, cheat, churl, contumacious, creep, crock, cross-grained, crowbait, cur, cutup, dastard, devil, disobedient, dog, elf, enfant terrible, fractious, funmaker, garron, goat, good-for-nothing, hack, headstrong, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, imp, incorrigible, independent, intractable, jade, joker, jokester, jughead, knave, lawless, little devil, little monkey, little rascal, louse, minx, mischief, mischief-maker, miscreant, mountebank, nag, pixie, plug, practical joker, prankster, precious rascal, puck, rampageous, rapscallion, rascal, rat, recalcitrant, refractory, roarer, rosinante, rotter, rowdy, ruffian, scalawag, scamp, scapegrace, scoundrel, self-willed, shyster, sneak, spalpeen, stiff, stinker, strong-willed, swindler, trickster, uncontrollable, undisciplined, ungovernable, unmanageable, unpredictable, unrestrained, unruly, villain, wag, wastrel, whistler, wild, wretch