acclivity

American  

[uh-kliv-i-tee] / əˈklɪv ɪ ti /

noun

plural

acclivities

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

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

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

Their horses were not Saladins, and the best of them had become blown in their gallop against the steep acclivity more than a mile in length.

From No Quarter! by Reid, Mayne

Then the acclivity ends, and surmounting the roll of its brow a great flat wooded space, with here and there the distant hump of a mountain jutting against the sky, lies spread out in front.

From Fordham's Feud by Mitford, Bertram

This was a small hill-town, girt by a ruinous wall, and buckled with crazy towers, which topped an acclivity on the right of the valley, and commanded the road.

From The Abbess Of Vlaye by Weyman, Stanley J.

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.

They rustled through the bushes without any attempt at concealment, scrambling up the acclivity with the use of both hands and feet.

From The River Motor Boat Boys on the St. Lawrence The Lost Channel by Gordon, Harry