(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering; "a barbarous crime"; "brutal beatings"; "cruel tortures"; "Stalin's roughshod treatment of the kulaks"; "a savage slap"; "vicious kicks"
disapproval If you say that someone is riding roughshod over a person or their views, you disapprove of them because they are using their power or authority to do what they want, completely ignoring that person's wishes. These laws allow the security forces to continue to ride roughshod over the human rights of the people. ride roughshod over sb/sth ; run roughshod over sb/sth to behave in a way that ignores other people's feelings or opinions