From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishruggedrug‧ged /ˈrʌɡɪd/ ●○○ adjective 1 SGland that is rugged is rough and uneven a rugged coastline the rugged beauty of the Highlands► see thesaurus at rough2 BEAUTIFUL/GOOD-LOOKINGa man who is rugged is good-looking and has strong features which are often not perfect his rugged good looks3 STRONG OBJECTa vehicle or piece of equipment that is rugged is strongly built and not likely to break easily SYN sturdy4 rugged behaviour is confident and determined but not always polite rugged individualism —ruggedly adverb —ruggedness noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
rugged• The coastline is rugged and harsh.• Then we moved to a bungalow, marginally out of sight of the rugged coastline.• Ann admired his rugged good looks.• a rugged individual• He loved the rugged landscape of the West.• There are no high-powered radio or television stations, and only a few electric-power transmission lines crisscross the rugged landscape.• Up on the scaffolding, the two rugged manly types whistled at the womenfolk.• Our national supply of top-grade, rugged military leadership material must already be spoiled.• a rugged mountain bike• He was solidly built and looked like a rugged quarterback.• There you will meet a tall, rugged stranger taking his car engine to bits with no hope of reassembling it.Origin rugged (1200-1300) Probably from a Scandinavian language 