Asperity

/əˈspɛɹɪti/ · noun

Meaning

(uncountable) The quality of having a rough or uneven surface; roughness, unevenness; (countable, chiefly in the plural) a protruding or rough area or point on a surface; a protrusion..

Definitions by Sense

1. (uncountable) The quality of having a rough or uneven surface; roughness, unevenness; (countable, chiefly in the plural) a protruding or rough area or point on a surface; a protrusion.
2. The quality of being difficult or unpleasant to experience; (countable) a thing that is harsh and difficult to endure; a difficulty, a hardship.
3. The quality of being harsh or severe in the way one behaves or speaks toward another person; (countable, chiefly in the plural) a deeply hostile or resentful feeling; an animosity, a hatred.
4. Of sound: gratingness, harshness.
5. Of taste: harshness or sharpness; acridity, tartness.
6. Of writing: a lack of elegance and refinement; inelegance, roughness.

Example Sentences

Oyle of ſwete Almondes and of ſiſami taketh away the aſperitie and rougheneſſe of the throte.

The iuyce of Mynte mengled with honied water, cureth the payne of the eares being dropped therein, and taketh away the aſperitie, and roughneſſe of the tongue, whan it is rubbed or waſſhed therewith.

[I]f Man vvere out of the vvorld, vvho vvere then left […] to vievv the aſperityes of the Moon through a Dioptrick-glaſſe, and venture at the Proportion of her Hills by their ſhadovves[…]?

This Iſland [Corsica] has ever been ill Inhabited, by reaſon of the Aſperity of a great part of it, and the great difficulty of approaching it.

The genius of a people vvhere nothing but the monarchy is ſalique, having ceded this department, vvith ſundry others, totally to the vvomen—by a continual higgling vvith cuſtomers of all ranks and ſizes from morning to night, like ſo many rough pebbles ſhook long together in a bag, by amicable colliſions, they have vvorn dovvn their aſperities and ſharp angles, and not only become round and ſmooth, but vvill receive, ſome of them, a poliſh like a brilliant— […]

A match flickers, a lantern lights up the asperities of the mud wall; the window goes black.

A slip-line field analysis is given for the deformation of a soft asperity by a hard one and equations are derived for the corresponding coefficients of friction and wear rates.

the asperity of Maine’s winter

Synonyms for asperity

Antonyms for asperity

Related Words

Word Forms

• asperities

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions