Intimidating
Intimidating adjective - Harsh and threatening in manner or appearance.
Usage example: an intimidating bodyguard keeping the fans away from the rock star
Rough and intimidating are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Rough" instead an adjective "Intimidating".
Rough
Rough adjective - Harsh and threatening in manner or appearance.
Usage example: the rough faces of hardened criminals who had spent most of their lives behind bars
Intimidating and rough are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Intimidating" instead an adjective "Rough".
Both words in one sentence
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In Brighton Beach Memoirs, Eugene's brother Stanley loses all his money in a rough pool hall, made somewhat less intimidating by the fact that the hustler is Jason Alexander.
Source: Bad Guys Play Pool -
Jack appears to be a rough, violent, and intimidating man when Heileen first meets him on the Cat's Dream.
Source: Visual Novel / Heileen - Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: Jay is the Captain Smooth by being more mellow and calm while leading the kids, and Sydney is the Sergeant Rough, being rude and fairly intimidating.
Source: Roleplay / This Is Why We Fight
Cite this Source
Rough and Intimidating. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/intimidating/rough
Intimidating & Rough. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/intimidating/rough>.
Rough or Intimidating. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/intimidating/rough.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "intimidating" and "rough" have occurred on timeline