Meaning & use
go rogue
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiominformal
To start acting independently and against the rules or the wishes of the group you belong to.
Grammar: No object: an employee goes rogue.
Patterns
- someone goes rogue
- go rogue on someone
The manager went rogue and ordered new software without asking anyone.
If one agent goes rogue, the whole mission is at risk.
The intern went rogue and posted on the company account.
phraseidiomfigurative
Of a machine or system, to start working in a harmful, uncontrolled way.
Grammar: Used with things as the subject: the program went rogue.
Patterns
- something goes rogue
The program went rogue and deleted several files.
In the film, the robots go rogue and attack the city.
Engineers feared the system would go rogue.
Word forms
| third person singular | goes rogue |
|---|---|
| past tense | went rogue |
| past participle | gone rogue |
| -ing form | going rogue |
Common combinations
- go rogue on someone
- The team lead went rogue on his colleagues.
- afraid it will go rogue
- They were afraid the software would go rogue.
- gone rogue
- The agent has gone rogue.
- threaten to go rogue
- The ex-employee threatened to go rogue.
- going rogue
- Going rogue got him fired.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rebel
- Rebel means openly resist authority, and go rogue suggests breaking away from a group to follow your own plan.
- defect
- Defect means leave one side to join another, which is not required for going rogue.
- go it alone
- Go it alone is neutral and means acting without help, but does not imply breaking rules.
- run wild
- Run wild suggests being out of control but not necessarily disloyal.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: go rogue or go rouge?
go rogue vs go rouge
Rouge is a red powder for the cheeks and is a common misspelling of rogue in this phrase.
Practice
The pilot ignored orders and did what he thought best, so people said he had ____.
Choose one answer.
Gone rogue means acting outside the rules. Rouge is a cosmetic and the other options do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “go rogue”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.