The Latin word scabrōsus came to Spanish as escabroso , an adjective that has several meanings. Applied to a surface, the concept refers to the presence of obstacles or irregularities that make progress difficult.
For example: "We had to drive on a rough road for several hours before reaching the hotel" , "You have to be in good physical condition to travel this rough terrain without getting tired" , "The vehicle went off the cliff due to the roughness of the path" .
The idea of rugged can also be used in a symbolic sense regarding difficulties , barriers or complex conditions : «The Argentine tennis player will have to face a difficult slope if he wants to reach the final of the tournament» , «It is a difficult investigation since it involves a large number of companies" , "It will be a difficult championship for the team because it has lost several of its references and has not hired reinforcements" .
Lurid, on the other hand, can be something immoral, obscene, dark, or dangerous . In this context, what is rugged threatens morality , good taste, decency or decorum. Suppose a journalist is investigating the actions of a drug trafficking gang. These criminals, who have already committed several murders, threaten him so that he will not continue with his work. It can be said that the journalist is getting involved in a thorny issue that puts his life at risk and has unforeseen implications.
A child abuse incident involving a powerful priest can also be mentioned as a gruesome case . On the one hand, for the damage that the religious man's actions inflicted on a minor; On the other hand, because it is linked to a person who occupies a relevant place in society .
Among the synonyms of this adjective we find more than one list, a division that is appropriate to reflect the different meanings of the term rugged . First of all we have the following: intricate, abrupt, rough , hilly, rugged, uneven, broken, dangerous , difficult and difficult .
This list is not very defined, since it includes words that can respond to any of the three meanings that the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy gives us: something uneven and full of obstacles, such as being a piece of land, along which it is probable stumble ; a dangerous situation, bordering on immoral or inconvenient ; a thing in bad condition , hard and rough .
For these synonyms, the antonyms that we can find are the following: easy, smooth and plain . On the other hand, we have the synonyms twisted, morbid, unhealthy and gruesome . Finally, we can find a list similar but even more subjective than this one: obscene, rude , dirty, indecent, green, spicy and inconvenient .
As can be seen, the term rugged does not have any positive or neutral meaning, since in all cases it describes some situation or some object loaded with negative features, which is in deplorable conditions and which can cause harm to those who are exposed to it. come closer to them.
Precisely, there is the phrase rugged terrain , which serves to figuratively describe any situation with which the issuer recommends not relating. Let's look at some example sentences below: "Oh, no, Jaime's personal life is a difficult terrain that I prefer not to approach," "From what I see, the accounting of this company is a difficult terrain ."
In its objective meaning, when it refers to a very rugged and uneven terrain, the negative repercussion for those who travel it is usually less than in the case of dark businesses or any of the situations mentioned above. To cross a road with these characteristics, it is enough to have a suitable vehicle, with wheels specially designed to advance on the most difficult surfaces , resistant bodies and exceptional cushioning.