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asperity
[ uh-sper-i-tee ]
/ əˈspɛr ɪ ti /
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noun, plural as·per·i·ties.
harshness or sharpness of tone, temper, or manner; severity; acrimony: The cause of her anger did not warrant such asperity.
hardship; difficulty; rigor: the asperities of polar weather.
roughness of surface; unevenness.
something rough or harsh.
OTHER WORDS FOR asperity
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Origin of asperity
1200–50; late Middle English asperite (<Anglo-French ) <Latin asperitās, equivalent to asper rough + -itās-ity; replacing Middle English asprete<Anglo-French, Old French <Latin
Words nearby asperity
Asperger syndrome, Asperges, aspergillosis, aspergillum, aspergillus, asperity, aspermia, asperse, aspersion, aspersorium, asphalt
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use asperity in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for asperity
asperity
/ (æˈspɛrɪtɪ) /
noun plural -ties
roughness or sharpness of temper
roughness or harshness of a surface, sound, taste, etc
a condition hard to endure; affliction
physics the elastically compressed region of contact between two surfaces caused by the normal force
Word Origin for asperity
C16: from Latin asperitās, from asper rough
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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