Synonyms of rasping

rasping 1 of 2

adjective

as in hoarse

harsh and dry in sound

a patient beset by a rasping cough from years of smoking

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hoarse
• gruff
• husky
• raspy
• throaty
• gravelly
• coarse
• rusty
• scratchy
• grating
• croaky
• gravel
• croaking
• guttural
• growling
• choked
• scraping
• scratching
• abrasive
• grinding
• strangled
• strained
• strident
• raucous
• rough
• cacophonous
• jarring
• discordant
• growly
• cracked
• screeching
• dissonant
• squawking
• unmusical
• cawing
• inharmonious
• unmelodious

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• gentle
• sweet
• liquid
• golden
• soothing
• mellifluous
• mellow
• smooth
• tender
• soft
• velvety
• silken
• gliding
• mellifluent
• musical
• satiny
• melodic
• melodious
• lyrical
• lyric
• euphonious

rasping

2 of 2

verb

present participle of rasp

1

as in rubbing

to make smooth by friction

after sawing the board in half, rasp the ends to remove any splinters

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rubbing
• grinding
• filing
• polishing
• scraping
• sanding
• sharpening
• honing
• buffing
• smoothing
• shining
• scouring
• planing
• sandblasting
• glossing
• burnishing
• edging
• regrinding
• stropping
• dressing
• whetting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• scuffing
• roughening
• roughing (up)
• coarsening

2

as in scratching

to pass roughly and noisily over or against a surface

the sound of fingernails rasping on the blackboard makes me cringe

Synonyms & Similar Words

• scratching
• scraping
• rubbing
• grinding
• grating
• groaning
• whining

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sliding
• gliding
• skating

3

as in annoying

to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts

the two siblings seemed intent on rasping each other for the entire car trip

Synonyms & Similar Words

• annoying
• irritating
• bothering
• bugging
• persecuting
• grating
• aggravating
• getting
• eating
• nettling
• exasperating
• itching
• spiting
• ruffling
• griping
• worrying
• burning (up)
• frosting
• teasing
• chafing
• infuriating
• irking
• riling
• vexing
• galling
• hacking (off)
• wearing on
• getting to
• narking
• putting out
• peeving
• angering
• provoking
• insulting
• piquing
• rousing
• nagging
• plaguing
• harassing
• sticking in one's craw
• rubbing the wrong way
• offending
• upsetting
• getting on one's nerves
• harrying
• enraging
• hassling
• badgering
• getting one's goat
• heckling
• distressing
• setting one's teeth on edge
• disquieting
• unsettling
• agitating
• pestering
• discomforting
• maddening
• inflaming
• roiling
• antagonizing
• incensing
• rankling
• baiting
• perturbing
• unhinging
• fretting
• affronting
• undoing
• deviling
• exercising
• bullyragging
• outraging
• freaking (out)
• discomposing
• miffing
• hagriding

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• obliging
• placating
• satisfying
• pacifying
• gratifying
• appeasing
• pleasing
• conciliating
• reassuring
• delighting
• soothing
• mollifying
• comforting
• assuring
• propitiating
• cheering
• quieting
• consoling
• contenting
• gladdening
• solacing

4

as in eroding

to damage or diminish by continued friction

during the last ice age, glaciers rasped the surface, leaving the deeply scarred rock

Synonyms & Similar Words

• eroding
• wearing
• fraying
• rubbing
• scraping
• biting
• reducing
• abrading
• chafing
• shaving
• fretting
• galling
• filing
• sharpening
• eating
• gnawing
• chewing
• erasing
• grating
• corrading
• scuffing
• nibbling
• grazing
• sandblasting
• sandpapering
• scouring
• grinding
• disintegrating
• frazzling
• corroding
• decomposing
• wiping (away)
• wearing out
• dissolving
• honing
• whetting
• rubbing out
• breaking down
• breaking up

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of rasping

Verb

Stach’s rasping effort, 30 yards from goal, wide left, beat the Belgian at his near post to steal the match for Leeds. — Beren Cross, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Yet Karter is utterly at ease behind the mic, rasping through a wistful melody with an unlit cigarette between her fingers, a black motorcycle jacket slipping off one shoulder. — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 6 July 2026

Koulibaly misjudged a clearance and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was unable to keep out substitute Marcus Pedersen’s rasping shot to give Norway the lead close to halftime. — Monica Alba, NBC news, 24 June 2026

The voice was faint and rasping, like the sound of pebbles raked by a wave. — Maggie O’Farrell, Literary Hub, 2 June 2026

When the beetle takes flight, the woman, who is busy unpacking, doesn’t realize for a moment that there’s something out of place about that rasping ruckus, that foreign hum. — María Ospina, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026

Thrips have rasping, sucking mouthparts. — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 3 Mar. 2026

Negron, in particular, completely throws himself into it, rasping and howling and wailing out ad-libs. — Paul Grein, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019