asperity
[ uh-sper-i-tee ]
/ əˈspɛr ɪ ti /
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.
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
SYNONYMS FOR asperity
Words nearby asperity
asperges,
aspergilloma,
aspergillosis,
aspergillum,
aspergillus,
asperity,
aspermatism,
aspermia,
asperse,
aspersion,
aspersorium
Example sentences from the Web for asperity
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