asperate

[ as-puh-reyt ]

/ ˈæs pəˌreɪt /

verb (used with object), as·per·at·ed, as·per·at·ing.

to make rough, harsh, or uneven: a voice asperated by violent emotion.

Nearby words

aspectant, aspectual, aspen, aspen hill, asper, asperate, asperation, asperger syndrome, asperger's syndrome, asperges, aspergilloma

Origin of asperate

First recorded in 1650–60, asperate is from the Latin word asperātus (past participle of asperāre). See asper², -ate¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for asperate

But in the ordinary life there in my time there was little to "asperate" the douceur.
A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2|George Saintsbury

British Dictionary definitions for asperate

asperate

asperous (ˈæspərəs)

/ (ˈæspəˌreɪt) /

adjective

(of plant parts) having a rough surface due to a covering of short stiff hairs

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

Word Origin and History for asperate

asperate

1650s, "make rough," from Latin asperatus, past participle of asperare "to roughen, make rough, exasperate," from asper "rough" (see asperity). Related: Asperated; asperating.