Rough route, reportedly (6)
I believe the answer is:
coarse
'rough' is the definition.
(associated in meaning)
'route reportedly' is the wordplay.
'route' becomes 'course' (course is a kind of route).
'reportedly' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'course' is a homophone of 'COARSE'.
(Other definitions for coarse that I've seen before include "Boorish" , "Large-grained or rough to the touch" , "gross" , "Rough in texture or crude in manner" , "Rough, uncouth" .)