aspect

[ as-pekt ]
See synonyms for aspect on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. appearance to the eye or mind; look: the physical aspect of the country.

  2. nature; quality; character: the superficial aspect of the situation.

  1. a way in which a thing may be viewed or regarded; interpretation; view: both aspects of a decision.

  2. part; feature; phase: That is the aspect of the problem that interests me most.

  3. facial expression; countenance: He wore an aspect of gloom. Hers was an aspect of happy optimism.

  4. bearing; air; mien: warlike in aspect.

  5. view commanded; exposure: The house has a southern aspect.

  6. the side or surface facing a given direction: the dorsal aspect of a fish; the northern aspect of the house.

  7. Grammar.

    • a category or interrelated set of categories for which the verb is inflected in some languages, typically to indicate the duration, repetition, completion, or quality of the action or state denoted by the verb.

    • a set of syntactic devices, as in the English perfect with have in I have gone, with functions similar to such inflections.

    • any of the members or instances of these categories or sets: the Latin perfect aspect; the Russian imperfect aspect.

    • the meaning of, or meaning typical of, such a category or construction.

    • such categories or constructions, or their meanings collectively.

  8. Astrology.

    • the angular distance between two points as seen from the earth, primarily derived by dividing the 360 degrees of the zodiac by the integers 1 through 12.

    • the influence of any two planets or groups of planets located at such points.

  9. Archaic. a look; glance.

Origin of aspect

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin aspectus “appearance, visible form, the action of looking at,” equivalent to aspec- (variant stem of aspicere “to observe, look at,” from a- a-5 + -spicere, combining form of specere “to see”) + -tus suffix of verbal action

synonym study For aspect

1. See appearance.

Other words for aspect

Words Nearby aspect

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use aspect in a sentence

  • She looked from the picture to her daughter, with a frightful glare, in their before mild aspect.

  • Her manner amazed him; it was so unlike the aspect of fair interpretation, with which she usually discussed a dubious subject.

  • To travelers blessed with golden sunshine, the Rhine may wear a grander, nobler aspect, and to such I leave it.

    Glances at Europe | Horace Greeley
  • Little boys when decking themselves out with tall hat and monstrously big clothes seem to be trying to put on an alarming aspect.

    Children's Ways | James Sully
  • English Agriculture has a thorough and cleanly aspect which I have rarely observed elsewhere.

    Glances at Europe | Horace Greeley

British Dictionary definitions for aspect

aspect

/ (ˈæspɛkt) /


noun
  1. appearance to the eye; visual effect: the physical aspect of the landscape

  2. a distinct feature or element in a problem, situation, etc; facet: to consider every aspect of a problem

  1. the way in which a problem, idea, etc, may be considered: to consider a problem from every aspect

  2. a facial expression; manner of appearing: a severe aspect

  3. a position facing a particular direction; outlook: the southern aspect of a house

  4. a view in a certain direction: a good aspect of the village from the tower

  5. a surface that faces in a given direction: the ventral aspect of a fish

  6. astrology any of several specific angular distances between two planets or a planet and the Ascendant or Midheaven measured, from the earth, in degrees along the ecliptic

  7. grammar a category of verbs or verbal inflections that expresses such features as the continuity, repetition, or completedness of the action described: Compare perfective (def. 2), progressive (def. 8), progressive (def. 10)

  8. botany

    • the compass direction to which a plant habitat is exposed, or the degree of exposure

    • the effect of the seasons on the appearance of plants

  9. archaic glance or gaze

Origin of aspect

1
C14: from Latin aspectus a sight, from aspicere, from ad- to, at + specere to look

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012