1
as in bitterness
a harsh or sharp quality
doesn't like the asperity of most experimental music
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in severity
biting sharpness of feeling or expression
she responded with such asperity that we knew she was deeply offended by the question
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3
as in hardship
something that is a cause for suffering or special effort especially in the attainment of a goal
He overcame his share of asperities on the road to success.
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Recent Examples of asperity
Robin Waterfield’s Aesop’s Fables: A New Translation (Basic Books, $30) renders them in all their feral, fatalistic glory—bursts of Hobbesian asperity with dubious, sometimes conflicting, morals.
—
Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
Advertisement On a re-read, Orwell’s narrative holds up, in large part due to the asperity of the prose and the prescient description of how fascism can creep into any society that takes freedom for granted.
—Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
Her asperity has brought upon her the full flaming rage of the Twittersphere.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 2 Oct. 2022
Imagine Don Draper’s grasp of American psychopathology delivered with the pithy asperity of Emily Dickinson.
—Megan O’Grady, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2020
By the time Keane wrote Devoted Ladies, a note of asperity had crept into her fiction.
—Francine Prose, The New York Review of Books, 22 Nov. 2018
Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024
Advertisement On a re-read, Orwell’s narrative holds up, in large part due to the asperity of the prose and the prescient description of how fascism can creep into any society that takes freedom for granted.
—Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
Her asperity has brought upon her the full flaming rage of the Twittersphere.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 2 Oct. 2022
Imagine Don Draper’s grasp of American psychopathology delivered with the pithy asperity of Emily Dickinson.
—Megan O’Grady, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2020
By the time Keane wrote Devoted Ladies, a note of asperity had crept into her fiction.
—Francine Prose, The New York Review of Books, 22 Nov. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for asperity
Noun
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Seeing a former flame with someone else brings out a jealous bitterness that eats at Lou, which is hard not to relate to as a millennial audience member with a heart.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
17 Mar. 2026
-
In 2019, Spanish geneticists mapped the genomes of bitter and sweet almonds and determined that a single gene was responsible for almond bitterness.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Analyst Michael Leininger, a former San Jose police detective, said standard law enforcement rules in similar situations require officers to consider the severity of the offense and whether the individual is identifiable and can be arrested at a later time.—
Hema Sivanandam,
Mercury News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
The severity of the resulting injury depends on, among countless other variables, how the electricity enters the body, and where, and the path the current takes through it.—
Jacob Stern,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Some lenders also offer hardship programs that temporarily reduce or pause payments for borrowers who qualify.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
-
The storms, the flooding, the constant rain across O'ahu have affected so many of our people, especially those already facing hardship.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Samara Weaving returns with sharper edges, this time facing off against four families in a plot that veers toward global domination.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
20 Mar. 2026
-
The neighborhood/area Hotel June sits at the northern edge of Malibu, just a few minutes from the Pacific Coast Highway, putting the coast and Santa Monica Bay at your doorstep.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Traders have been worried over the hostilities in the Middle East.—
Jeff Cox,Sean Conlon,Joseph Wilkins,
CNBC,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The administration's hostility toward renewables is having an effect.—
Camila Domonoske,
NPR,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The challenge of weather-app creation lies both in the improbability of accurately predicting the weather and in the difficulty of designing something that works for any user, anywhere.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
25 Mar. 2026
-
House conservatives came out against the deal before it was even announced, signaling the difficulty Republican leadership in both chambers could face to end the monthlong DHS shutdown.—
Rachel Schilke,
The Washington Examiner,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Located conveniently next to the ski lockers, Double Blacks is a great coffee shop perfect for caffeine cravings and quick bites.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 Mar. 2026
-
The dough was light and airy with a crispy bite and minimal flop.—
Jamie,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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To predict how an outbreak will progress, epidemiologists often use stock-and-flow diagrams: illustrations featuring stocks of people (susceptible, infected, recovered, dead) and arrows showing flows between them based on factors such as exposure or virulence.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
4 Mar. 2026
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Genes involved in adaptation, such as those linked to virulence, metabolism or host interaction, also move with them.—
Lily Peck,
The Conversation,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Asperity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asperity. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.
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