asperity
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asperity
- /əˈspɛɹɪti/ UK
- /əˈspɛɹɪti/ US
- [-ɾi] US
Rhymes with -ɛɹɪti
Where it comes from
From Middle English asprete, asperite, from Old French aspreté (modern French âpreté), from Latin asperitātem, the accusative singular of asperitās (“roughness, unevenness; fierceness, severity; harshness, sharpness; acidity, tartness”), from asper (“coarse, rough, uneven; bitter, fierce harsh; rude, unrefined; etc.”) (probably from Proto-Indo-European *h₂esp- (“to cut”)) + -itās (a variant of -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns indicating a state of being)). The spelling of the English word is influenced directly by Latin asperitātem. Doublet of asperitas.
noun asperities
-
The quality of having a rough or uneven surface; roughness, unevenness; (countable, chiefly in the plural) a protruding or rough area or point on a surface; a protrusion.
Oyle of ſwete Almondes and of ſiſami taketh away the aſperitie and rougheneſſe of the throte.
Similar: bumpiness, ruggedness, bump, protuberance · Opposite: smoothness
-
A section of a fault line with high friction, such that there is no movement along this part of the fault except during an earthquake.
We inferred that the locking of asperities did cause higher stresses associated with earthquake cycle itself to occur in areas adjacent to asperities, both updip and downdip from them, and that such stressing has been much less pronounced in the areas adjacent to non-asperities.
Similar: bumpiness, ruggedness, bump, protuberance · Opposite: smoothness
- The quality of being difficult or unpleasant to experience; (countable) a thing that is harsh and difficult to endure; a difficulty, a hardship. the asperity of Maine’s winter
- The quality of being harsh or severe in the way one behaves or speaks toward another person; (countable, chiefly in the plural) a deeply hostile or resentful feeling; an animosity, a hatred. But leaſt he ſhoulde offend the Iewes with the aſperitie of the word, if hee had ſaid that the lawe was dead, hee vſed a digreſſion, or deflection, ſaying, we are dead to the law.
- Of sound: gratingness, harshness. [T]he importunate, harſh and diſharmonious Coaxations of Frogs, (ſo called in the Greek from that very ungratefull noiſe, […] from the ſhrilneſs and aſperity of the noiſe they make) […]
-
Of taste: harshness or sharpness; acridity, tartness.
[T]he aſperity of tartarous ſalts, and the fiery acrimony of alcaline ſalts, irritating and vvounding the nerves, produce naſcent paſſions and anxieties in the ſoul; vvhich both aggravate diſtempers, and render men's lives reſtleſs and vvretched, even vvhen they are afflicted vvith no apparent diſte
Similar: acrimony
- Of writing: a lack of elegance and refinement; inelegance, roughness.
Translations
Every language
noun quality of having a rough or uneven surface (cognates) — see also roughness, unevenness
| Español | aspereza |
|---|---|
| Português | aspereza, asperidade |
| Français | aspérité |
| Italiano | asprezza, asperità, asprità |
| Română | asperitate, asprime |
noun quality of being difficult or unpleasant to experience (cognates) — see also harshness, rigour, severity
| Italiano | asprezza |
|---|---|
| Română | asperitate |
noun thing that is harsh and difficult to endure (cognates) — see also difficulty, hardship
| Français | aspérité |
|---|---|
| Italiano | asperità, asprità |
noun quality of being harsh or severe in the way one behaves or speaks toward another person — see also harshness, severity
| Español | aspereza, asperidad |
|---|---|
| Português | aspereza, asperidade |
| Română | asperitate, asprime |
| Русский | суро́вость suróvostʹ, жёсткость žóstkostʹ |
| العربية | حِدَّة ḥidda |
Talk about this word "asperity." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/asperity. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. asperity. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/asperity "asperity." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/asperity.Cite this
@misc{asperity_2026,
title = {asperity},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/asperity},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
