He's rough, tough, loveless and confused (4)

I believe the answer is:

thug

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'he's rough' is the definition.
'thug' can be an answer for 'rough' (I've seen this before). I am not sure about the 'he's' bit.

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for thug that I've seen before include "violent gang member" , "undesirable character" , "Bully" , "Gorilla" , "violent man" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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