1
as in bitterness
a harsh or sharp quality
doesn't like the asperity of most experimental music
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
-
Add the lime juice just before serving to preserve brightness and prevent bitterness.—
Kate Bradshaw,
Mercury News,
9 June 2026
-
How did someone emerge from such darkness without becoming consumed by bitterness?—
Norman B. Gildin,
Sun Sentinel,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
But now, he will be sidelined as the Royals look to determine the severity of the injury.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
10 June 2026
-
The bear was approximately 17 months old, and in the 70-pound range, Collins said, explaining the severity of the situation.—
Jazmin Alvarado,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
Frankl later described this ability to find meaning and purpose amid hardship as one of humanity’s greatest freedoms.—
Norman B. Gildin,
Sun Sentinel,
9 June 2026
-
Instead, beneficiaries would continue receiving monthly checks, though reduced — an outcome advocates for older Americans warn could create financial hardship for millions of the program's beneficiaries.—
Aimee Picchi,
CBS News,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
The ball ricocheted to the edge of the infield grass, where first baseman Freddie Freeman picked it up.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2026
-
Rainwater tends to stockpile on the edges of roads.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
The apparent loss of the aircraft came after hostilities in the region escalated over the weekend, with Iran and Israel exchanging their first direct strikes in months late Sunday.—
Todd Symons,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
-
Pashinyan has implemented the complete transformation of Armenia’s position in the region and the world, going from a de facto protectorate of Russia to one bordering on hostility.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
8 June 2026
Noun
-
Jackson attended Lipscomb University in Nashville to study business but dropped out because of financial difficulties.—
Shannon McCaffrey,
AJC.com,
10 June 2026
-
The difficulty of seeing the game in-person has prompted fans to crowd bars, streets and watch parties all over the city.—
Stephen Whyno,
Fortune,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
The brakes have an initial bite, but are satisfyingly firm.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
12 June 2026
-
Before the development of effective antivenoms and modern critical care, bites from snakes with comparable venom profiles had much graver prognoses.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
Google also mentioned that the system could do more general hypothesizing that doesn’t involve drugs, using an example of the spread of virulence genes in bacteria.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
19 May 2026
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Asperity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/asperity. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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