asperity

Noun

Meaning

Roughness of surface; unevenness; -- opposed to smoothness.

Roughness or harshness of sound; that quality which grates upon the ear; raucity.

Roughness to the taste; sourness; tartness.

Moral roughness; roughness of manner; severity; crabbedness; harshness; -- opposed to mildness.

Sharpness; disagreeableness; difficulty.

Source: Webster's dictionary

Synonyms

severity hardship sharpness rigor harshness rigour sourness acrimony tartness grimness rigorousness rigourousness severeness venom malice
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Antonyms

clover bliss success content advantage attention
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Hypernyms

difficulty difficultness ill nature

Hyponyms

sternness

Related terms

exasperate asperous asperitas

Derivatives

asperities

Examples

Venerate four characters: the sanguine who has checked volatility and the rage for pleasure; the choleric who has subdued passion and pride; the phlegmatic emerged from indolence; and the melancholy who has dismissed avarice, suspicion and asperity. Johann Kaspar Lavater

Manfred was not one of those savage tyrants who wanton in cruelty unprovoked. The circumstances of his fortune had given an asperity to his temper, which was naturally humane; and his virtues were always ready to operate, when his passions did not obscure his reason. Horace Walpole

the asperity of northern winters Source: Internet

When the debate is getting excessively heated, it is open to a member to move "that the Standing Order on Asperity of Speech be read by the Clerk". Source: Internet

Close letter words and terms

asperifolious asperin asperitas aspermatic aspermatism aspermatogenesis