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asperate

[as-puh-reyt]
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verb (used with object), as·per·at·ed, as·per·at·ing.
  1. to make rough, harsh, or uneven: a voice asperated by violent emotion.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for asperate

Historical Examples

  • 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)

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

v.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper