English Reference

Word

rogue

US/ˈɹoʊɡ/

UK/ɹˈəʊɡ/

Definitions

01a dishonest person

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun

n. a person who is dishonest or does things that are not principled.

n. a person who lacks principles or acts in a deceitful and unreliable manner.

“The rogue cheated the elderly couple out of their life savings.”

“The investigation revealed that a rogue within the department had been leaking sensitive information to the press for months.”

Antonyms

02a playful person

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Humorous

n. a person, often a child, who is mischievous but in a way that is likeable.

n. a person, typically a child or young person, who behaves in a playfully mischievous way.

“That little rogue stole a cookie when I wasn't looking.”

“He gave her a wink, looking like a charming rogue who was about to break all the rules.”

Synonyms

scamprascalmischief-maker

03fantasy character

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun

n. a character in a game or story who is good at hiding and stealing.

n. a character class in role-playing games typically characterised by stealth, agility, and trickery.

“I usually play as a rogue because I like to sneak past enemies.”

“The party's rogue successfully picked the lock while the guards were distracted by the wizard's illusion.”

Synonyms

04behaving unpredictably

B2 · Upper Intermediate

adj. behaving in an unexpected or harmful way, often by breaking the rules.

adj. operating outside of normal or desirable controls; unpredictable and often destructive.

“A rogue wave crashed over the side of the ship without warning.”

“The government is concerned about rogue states that refuse to follow international nuclear treaties.”

05to remove inferior plants

C2 · Proficiency Science Technical

v. to remove plants that are weak or not the right type from a group.

v. to remove inferior or atypical plants from a crop to maintain the quality of the stock.

“The farmers had to rogue the field to ensure the seeds stayed pure.”

“To maintain the genetic integrity of the strain, technicians must rogue any individuals showing undesirable variations before pollination occurs.”

Usage

The verb is transitive and requires a direct object, usually the field or the plants themselves.

Synonyms

cullweed

Real-World Examples

“Claude-maker Anthropic, Meta and the UK's AI Security Institute (AISI) have now each reported incidents which seem to paint a worrying picture of a world in which tech going rogue is the norm.”
BBC News 6 Aug 2026
“The promise is that rogue barber shops, vape stores, mini-marts and sweet shops will face thousands of raids.”
BBC News 7 Jun 2026
“And it rejects the implication that betting shops are similar to rogue businesses.”
The Guardian 11 Aug 2026

Etymology

Uncertain. From either: * Earlier English roger (“a begging vagabond who pretends to be a poor scholar from Oxford or Cambridge”), possibly from Latin rogō (“I ask”). * Middle French rogue (“arrogant, haughty”), from Old Northern French rogre (“aggressive”), from Old Norse hrokr (“excess, exuberance”), for which see Icelandic hroki (“arrogance”), though OED does not document this. * Celtic; see Breton rog (“haughty”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Idioms

Domains

ComputingHorticulture

This entry

Exam level
CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
Frequency
Frequent
Level
C1 · Advanced
Updated

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English Reference