as in hoarse
harsh and dry in sound
a patient beset by a rasping cough from years of smoking
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rasping
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
Cody Gapko struck the post three times — once with a deflected cross, twice with rasping drives — while Senne Lammens saved Alexander Isak’s shot with an outstretched right foot.
—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
Negron, in particular, completely throws himself into it, rasping and howling and wailing out ad-libs.
—
Paul Grein,
Billboard,
3 Sep. 2019
Verb
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
Cody Gapko struck the post three times — once with a deflected cross, twice with rasping drives — while Senne Lammens saved Alexander Isak’s shot with an outstretched right foot.
—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
Negron, in particular, completely throws himself into it, rasping and howling and wailing out ad-libs.
—
Paul Grein,
Billboard,
3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rasping
Adjective
-
Others walked home sunburned, hoarse and still dressed in blue and orange.
-
During the debate, Joe Biden frequently lost his train of thought, stumbled over answers, and appeared hoarse, fueling concerns among voters and party leaders.
Verb
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Many kids joined Club America in part because Kirk’s conservative principles appealed to them and in part because rubbing elbows with wealthy donors who frequented Mar-a-Lago did, too.
-
But Jonah never accepted plenty of welcoming hands despite rubbing elbows in such crowds, and Jamon hardly let his son leave the house, least of all for a party.
Verb
-
Repairing Furniture There are few misfortunes greater than scratching a new piece of dark wood furniture.
-
Unless Drury is just scratching the surface as a 26-year-old, his 27 points in 82 regular-season games aren’t as promising a sign as his postseason highlights.
Verb
-
Weird; annoying even – but the floaters did not seem urgent.
-
My biggest concern about adding a tracking device around Mya’s neck was annoying her or creating disruption.
Verb
-
Starmer led the Labour party to a landslide victory in July 2024 and ever since, his popularity has been eroding thanks to a persistently high cost of living, an anemic economy and a scandal over his willingness to accept gifts from wealthy donors.
-
The internet's foundational assumption of human participation is eroding as AI agents become indistinguishable from people.
Adjective
-
But Rose bet that a less gruff voice, ultimately Mike Brown’s, was required to win it all.
-
Platner, a gruff 41-year-old Marine Corps veteran, is trying to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins with a platform of economic populism, universal health care, labor protections, and anti-interventionism.
Verb
-
Yet Marketplace Pulse research shows only 23% of sellers are growing revenue and improving margins at the same time; the rest are either grinding or distressed.
-
The grinding process will leave a large mound of chips mixed with soil that will need to be removed and replaced with topsoil.
Verb
-
Moore argues the city should be doing annual sand management, rather than scraping for funds and coming up short each time the larger-scale project comes around.
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Keeping the burners on high and using the scraping tool or a bench scraper, scrape at a roughly 45-degree angle to remove the rust or the stuck-on food.
Cite this Entry
“Rasping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rasping. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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