rasps 1 of 2

noun

plural of rasp
as in scratches
a harsh grating sound the rusted lock opened with a rasp

Synonyms & Similar Words

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rasps

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of rasp
1
as in files
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
as in scrapes
to pass roughly and noisily over or against a surface the sound of fingernails rasping on the blackboard makes me cringe

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in annoys
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in wears
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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rasps
  1. scratches
  2. files
  3. scrapes
  4. annoys
  5. wears
  6. creaks
  7. rubs
  8. bugs
Noun
  • Using a scrub brush on your glass cooktop will create scratches over time.
    — Sarah Everett, The Spruce, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Sue Spitzer of Rockford had on her pendant made of green glass, which was smooth and glossy on top but laced with tiny white scratches on the bottom.
    — Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of scratches
Verb
  • The former San Francisco supervisor wants to pursue legislation to prevent insurance companies from raising the rates or dropping the coverage of a policyholder who files a claim.
    — Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Correspondence files that document how a company responded at the moments that mattered most.
    — Amanda Turcotte, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of files
Verb
  • High-schooler Makoto (Kawashima) lives with her mother, Emi (Akiko Kikuchi) — who is now an emotional wreck — while her father (Yoichiro Saito) has moved out, lost his office job, and now scrapes together a living as a delivery driver.
    — James Marsh, Variety, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Their situation becomes critical when one of the adolescent children, Elia (Vanessa Ceban), is observed by a teacher to have a mark on her face and scrapes on her back.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of scrapes
Verb
  • What annoys me is that this whole thing is called Roaring 20th, so why was there not a flapper and Great Gatsby theme?
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
  • That very same thing is what annoys Liz about Charles 500 years later.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of annoys
Verb
  • Linda Noskova wears Missoni shorts and a jacket and white leather trench by The Frankie Shop; Miista boots.
    — Corey Seymour, Vogue, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The Puch wears race-spec WP suspension forks sourced from a 1993 Aprilia RS 125 R Grand Prix racer, along with a single-sided swingarm from the same machine.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of wears
Noun
  • Jess Alder says dollhouse props fly off shelves, and the old building’s creaks can make closing time a little unsettling.
    — Josh Davis, Baltimore Sun, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Dillon put together another great week of work, falling forward, finding creaks of daylight in the gaps created by a less-than-ideal second-team offensive line.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of creaks
Verb
  • My colleague counters that to do so rubs salt in the wound, and that the loser is the one to first contact the winner with congratulations.
    — Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026
  • By the end of the nineteenth century, health tourists could easily travel to Davos, in the east of Switzerland, where the mountain vistas were more dramatic and newer treatments, such as chest rubs with marmot fat, awaited.
    — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of rubs
Verb
  • Irwin is uncertain if the second infestation of bed bugs last weekend were ones that weren’t caught the first time, or if a person brought new bed bugs in.
    — Susan Bromley, Freep.com, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Not too much bugs him, but he sometimes is annoyed by his baby sister and doesn’t trust people who put pineapple on their pizza.
    — Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of bugs
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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rasping
rasps
raspy
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Cite this Entry

“Rasps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rasps. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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