aspect

noun

as·pect ˈa-ˌspekt

Synonyms of aspect next

: a particular status or phase in which something appears or may be regarded

They studied every aspect of the question.

b(1)

: appearance to the eye or mind

the threatening aspect of the dark sky

(2)

: a particular appearance of the face : mien

… all that's best of dark and bright / Meet in her aspect and her eyes.—

Lord Byron

: the position of planets or stars with respect to one another held by astrologers to influence human affairs

also : the apparent position (such as conjunction) of a body in the solar system with respect to the sun

: a position facing a particular direction : exposure

a house with a southern aspect

: the manner of presentation of a plane to a fluid through which it is moving or to a current

grammar

: the nature of the action of a verb as to its beginning, duration, completion, or repetition and without reference to its position in time

: a set of inflected (see inflect sense 1) verb forms that indicate aspect

archaic : an act of looking : gaze

aspectual

a-ˈspek-chə(-wə)l

-chü(-ə)l

adjective

Did you know?

Since aspectus in Latin means "looked at", an aspect of something is basically the direction from which it's looked at. So we may say that travel is your favorite aspect of your job, or that eating well is one aspect of a healthy life. If you look at a stage set from the front, it looks completely different than from behind, where all the mechanisms are visible, and both aspects are important. The word can be very useful when you're analyzing something, and it's used a great deal in the writings of scholars.

Examples of aspect in a Sentence

depending on what aspect of college life you consider most important, there are several colleges which might be good for you he has the aspect of a man used to giving orders and seeing them obeyed

Recent Examples on the Web Another counterintuitive aspect of TJX’s success: physical stores, not the Internet, rule supreme. —

Thomas Lee, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Sep. 2023 These are three people who control different aspects of this. —

Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 9 Sep. 2023 Comic Relief, who combined the advocacy aspect with entertainment with a whole day of running film clips and appearances from various people. —

Glenn Gamboa, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2023 Just be sure to focus on the aspects that matter — size, material and adjustability. —

Mariah Thomas, Good Housekeeping, 8 Sep. 2023 That aspect — learning to deal with normal soreness again — is one that Coulombe said was the toughest to relearn after the surgery. —

Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 8 Sep. 2023 That way, Amy could experience aspects of the pregnancy. —

Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 7 Sep. 2023 The prefrontal cortex, located above your eyes, is mostly involved in the cognitive and social aspects of fear processing. —

Arash Javanbakht, Discover Magazine, 7 Sep. 2023 In a way, that gives us an opportunity to really focus on the business aspects. —

Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'aspect.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.