acclivity

American  

[uh-kliv-i-tee] / əˈklɪv ɪ ti /

noun

acclivities plural

1. an upward slope, as of ground; an ascent (opposed to declivity).

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acclivity British  

/ əˈklɪvɪtɪ, əˈklaɪvəs /

noun

1. an upward slope, esp of the ground Compare declivity

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• acclivitous
  adjective
• acclivous
  adjective
• unacclivitous
  adjective
• unacclivitously
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• acclivities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of acclivity

1605–15; < Latin acclīvitās, equivalent to acclīv ( is ) steep ( ac- ac- + -clīvis, adj. derivative of clīvus slope) + -itās -ity

Explanation

An acclivity might be something to dread if you ride a bike a lot. An acclivity is an uphill slope, so you’ll have to pedal a little harder to get to the top. The word acclivity traces back to the Latin word acclivis, meaning “ascending,” which is a combination of ad-, meaning “toward,” and clivus, meaning “slope.” If you encounter an acclivity, it’s going to be all uphill until you get to the top. The opposite of an acclivity is a declivity, which has a similar Latin origin. In the case of declivity, it’s the de- prefix, meaning “down,” that moves things in the opposite direction and gives it the meaning of “downhill slope.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

acclivity acclivities

Instead, her eyes were fixedly bent upon the face of the acclivity opposite—more particularly on a riband of road that went winding up through woods from Drybrook to the “Wilderness.”

From No Quarter! by Reid, Mayne

Jautor is surrounded by towering sierras, and we proceeded on foot up a rough goat-track, choked with strong brushwood, and leading up the steep southern acclivity.

From Wild Spain (Espa?a agreste) Records of Sport with Rifle, Rod, and Gun, Natural History Exploration by Buck, Walter J.

Declivity, de-kliv′i-ti, n. a place that declines, or slopes downward, opposite of acclivity: inclination downward: a gradual descent.—adjs.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

But most of all I admired the countless villas, covering every hill and every acclivity as far as the eye can reach, as if the city extended beyond the mountains into the far distance.

From Letters of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy from Italy and Switzerland by Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix

It is pleasantly situated on the summit and slopes of an acclivity rising from the river, and has handsome squares, terraces, and streets.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 3: Estremoz to Felspar by Various

Their road lay around the head of St. Inigoe's creek, and soon became entangled in dark, woody ravines and steep acclivities which presented, at this hour, no small interruption to their progress.

From Rob of the Bowl, Vol. I (of 2) A Legend of St. Inigoe's by Kennedy, John P.

I fear we shall ascend no more acclivities together.

From The Letters of William James, Vol. II by James, William

The sandstone predominates in some parts of the range, forming small cliffs, underneath which there are steep acclivities of sand.

From Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea by Franklin, John

Cliffs topped with wood break through the acclivities on the left, and here and there plantations of spruce and larch impart a sense of shelter.

From A Month in Yorkshire by White, Walter

One core-like ridge runs along the summit, branching off into numberless steep valleys and acclivities, down to the water's edge.

From Los Gringos Or, An Inside View of Mexico and California, with Wanderings in Peru, Chili, and Polynesia by Wise, H. A. (Henry Augustus)