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

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

Valrennes posted his men behind two large trees that had fallen across the road on an acclivity, and, from this position of vantage, inflicted considerable loss upon the invaders.

From Count Frontenac Makers of Canada, Volume 3 by LeSueur, William Dawson

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

It extends about 2 m. along the river bank, occupying a slight acclivity which reaches its summit at Windmill Hill, whence extensive views are obtained of the river, with its windings and shipping.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 4 "Grasshopper" to "Greek Language" 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